Trials of Life
by half-goddess-Katia
Summary: What happens when Yugi is ignored by his friends and Yami, but just as it's about to become too much an old friend of his comes to town and helps him. Yaoishonenai, eventually YYY and RYB
1. Alone

Alone  
  
An: I'll start this off by saying please don't kill me. If you read the AN on my other story you'll see that I am currently very stuck. I'm very very sorry for that and I promise you that I haven't given up on it. But this idea has been bugging me since I read the first story like it and I had to get it off my shoulders. And if you want to give suggestions for said story just tell me because I will appreciate them. That's about it.  
  
Disclaimer: This will be the disclaimer for my whole story, so that's why it won't be on the other chapters. I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh! gang and I never will. Though the original characters and plot are mine and mine alone.  
  
This will be set after Battle City, though I haven't seen the end of it so please don't hurt me if I get a few details wrong. Also, Yami Yugi will be known as Yami and Yami Bakura will be known as Bakura while the regular Bakura will be known as Ryou. Also, Yami and Bakura have their own bodies though they can still escape into the items if need be.  
  
I will be using Japanese names as it seems simpler to me, don't ask.  
  
I have based the ages off of the American schooling system where high school is 9 through 12 rather than 10 through 12 like in Japan.  
  
Finally, this is a yaoi, shonen-ai, gay, slash story, however you want to say it. All it means is that there are homosexual relationships in this story and if you don't like it leave right now. You have been warned.  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi  
  
Now, on with the story.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi walked to school alone that day as he had been for the past six months, since his friends began to ignore him.  
  
It had started shortly after Yami had been granted his own physical body. Yugi's friends Katsuya Jonouchi, Hiroto Honda, Anzu Mizaki, and Ryou Bakura had begun to ignore him in favor of Yami. He could see Ryou not having as much time because he had his own yami to take care of, and at first he thought that it was only natural that the others would pay more attention to Yami as he was, basically, new to the group. But then it had started to get worse. It started out as them simply forgetting he was around or accidentally leaving him out of a conversation for a short while. Then they started to forget to ask him to hang out at the arcade after school, only asking Yami and usually Ryou and Bakura. Finally, they seemed to forget about him all together. The never were around him, they didn't talk to him the few times he was where ever they happened to be. It was like he had suddenly become part of the wallpaper.  
  
But that wasn't the worst of it. He could've handled his friends forgetting about him if Yami had been there, but even he had forgotten about the tri-haired hikari. Yami had been caught up in hanging with his friends and he and Yugi hardly ever talked anymore. He was often out with Yugi's ex-friends and wouldn't be back until around dinner if not after. The link that had once been stronger than diamond, like nothing could ever break it, was now hardly there, almost like a simple sewing thread that could easily be snapped under pressure.  
  
And Yugi, without his friends, had once again become a prime target for bullies. His once smooth skin was now covered with scratches and bruises of all sizes, and no one seemed to notice.  
  
He had thought he could handle it, after all that was pretty much how it had been before he had moved to Domino at the age of 8 and until he met his friends and Yami when he was 14. Back when he had been...but he didn't want to think about that.  
  
Yugi sighed as he spotted his school ahead of him. It was time for another day of torture, another day of being forgotten.  
  
Suddenly a boy with red hair and wearing the same school uniform as him ran past him, carrying two school bags, and he heard a shout from behind him. It was a woman's voice and she seemed to be yelling at the man who had just ran past him in the direction of the school and away from the voice. The boy sped up as the girl shouted and dropped one of the bags he was carrying.  
  
"Jake, I swear when I get my hands on you, you are so DEAD!!!! Get back here you jack ass! STOP RUNNING!!!!" the girl's voice said as the red head, Yugi assumed his name was Jake, dived behind three other boys.  
  
"No thank you!! I DON'T have a DEATH WISH!!" The boy shouted back.  
  
As the girl was about to run past Yugi she saw the book bag and stopped. As she did Yugi saw that she had long tan colored hair that reached to about the center of her back and was tied into a ponytail a little below the base of her neck and bright emerald green eyes. He also saw that, despite the fact that she was a girl, she was wearing the boy's uniform. She sighed at the mess the fallen book bag had made and bent to pick the stuff up. Yugi, being Yugi, helped pick up the stuff that had fallen out when the bag had been dropped.  
  
"Thanks." The girl said as Yugi handed her the stuff he had picked up.  
  
"It's nothing." Yugi replied. For some reason he had the vague suspicion that he had met her somewhere before.  
  
"Now if you'll excuse me I have to go kill my friend. By the way, my name is Selene. Maybe we'll see each other again." And with that she took off after the red head, Jake, who was still cowering behind the other three boys, all of whom, Yugi noticed, stepped out of the way as Selene approached. She raised her right hand and slapped Jake upside the head, after which he promptly fell over.  
  
Yugi smiled as he watched the group of five interact, it was clear that they were good friends. He sighed as he opened the front doors and headed toward his and his 'friends' homeroom. When he walked in he saw them talking in the right-hand corner of the room and walked over to his seat which was in the left-hand corner along with what would be some of the only empty seats when every body took their seats. Just then the teacher, Mrs. Miyaki, walked in and every body headed back to their seats.  
  
"Hello class." Mrs. Miyaki said and after the class answered continued. "Today we have a group a transfer students joining our class. Please make them feel welcome. You may come in now." She directed the last bit to the open door and in walked the five people that Yugi had seen that morning.  
  
The first to walk in was the red head followed by a boy with light brown hair who was slightly taller than the red head, a boy with blond hair who was in between the two in height, a boy with ebony black hair who was the tallest, and finally Selene who was about as tall as the boy with blond hair and thus a head shorter than the one with black hair. Yugi watched in shock as did all of the girls and some of the boys (sans the Yu-Gi-Oh! gang) in the class, though for different reasons. Yugi because the five people in front of him just happened to be the same group he'd seen earlier and all the others for two reasons. One was because the girl was wearing a boy's uniform and two because the five of them were pretty much the hottest people they'd ever seen.  
  
"These are the new students. Will you please give your name and a hobby of yours?" Mrs. Miyaki said.  
  
The red head spoke first. "My name is Jake Meitou and my hobby is collecting different types of weapons used all over the world."  
  
Jake was followed by the boy with light brown hair, "My name is Derek Bushi and I love to learn about different forms of fighting."  
  
Derek was followed by the blond, "My name is Jason Chisei and I like to make things."  
  
Jason was followed by the ebony haired boy, "My name is Damien Kushin and I always work towards what ever I want."  
  
Finally it was Selene's turn, "My name is Selene Chousen and I like any type of challenge."  
  
It was then that Yugi realized where he recognized her.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: I know I'm evil but what did you expect. If you want to read more please review. And if you don't like it, that's okay with me, just please tell me why and please be polite about it. Basically if all you're going to say is something along the lines of 'I don't like it.' and don't have a reason then don't waste your and more importantly my time.  
  
Also, this is what their last names mean.  
  
Meitou means celebrated sword.  
  
Bushi means warrior.  
  
Chisei means intelligence.  
  
Kushin means diligence.  
  
Chousen means challenge. 


	2. Old and New

Old and New  
  
AN: Yes, this is the second chapter and yes I did start to write it before I posted the first. And does anybody have an idea for the genre because I'm stuck in that case.  
  
Disclaimer: It's in the first chapter. Like I said I'll only have one.  
  
This will be a yaoi, shonen-ai, gay, slash story. However you want to put it. If you don't like it, then what the hell are you doing here in the first place?  
  
And thanks to SoulDreamer who had the only review I received before I posted this.  
  
Finally, the stories won't normally come out this fast, I was just bored and had too much time yesterday.  
  
Eventually...  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami //...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
~*~*~Last time~*~*~  
  
"These are the new students. Will you please give your name and a hobby of yours?" Mrs. Miyaki said.  
  
The red head spoke first. "My name is Jake Meitou and my hobby is collecting different types of weapons used all over the world."  
  
Jake was followed by the boy with light brown hair, "My name is Derek Bushi and I love to learn about different forms of fighting."  
  
Derek was followed by the blond, "My name is Jason Chisei and I like to make things."  
  
Jason was followed by the ebony haired boy, "My name is Damien Kushin and I always work towards what ever I want."  
  
Finally it was Selene's turn, "My name is Selene Chousen and I like any type of challenge."  
  
It was then that Yugi realized where he recognized her.  
  
~*~*~On with the story~*~*~  
  
'It has to be her. They have the same name and no one else I know has that exact hair and eye color. No one. It's Selene from Siaka City.' Yugi thought as he stared at her, though no one but Selene himself seemed to notice and all she did was shoot him a small smile. It seemed that she remembered him too.  
  
"Okay Mr. Meitou, Mr. Bushi, Mr. Chisei, Mr. Kushin, and Ms. Chousen we'll need to find you all seats." Mrs. Miyaki looked around the room for a group of seats where the new students could sit together. The she spotted a group in the back left-hand corner. "Okay then, how about you take the seats by Mr. Motou. Mr. Motou would you please..." her command trailed off as Selene started walking toward the back, earning a confused look from every body in the room except Yugi himself. Then her friends exchanged glances, shrugged, and followed after her.  
  
"Hello Hikari." Selene said as she passed Yugi to sit in the empty desk right behind him, her friends following the whole way. As the seats were in rows of three Selene sat on the side nearest the wall with Damien to her right and Jake to his right. Behind them sat Jason and Derek with Jason right behind Jake and Derek to his left.  
  
Yugi stiffened at the use of her nickname for him. It was what she had always called him when they'd been friends.  
  
"Well," said Mrs. Miyaki after composing herself, " it seems that Ms. Chousen and Mr. Motou already know each other. I guess then that he can take Ms. Chousen and her friends around for a tour of the school. Mr. Motou if you can come and see me at the end of homeroom I'll give a note for your next class so you can spend the class period showing the new students around school." And then the bell rang. "Class dismissed. Have a great day everyone."  
  
After Yugi got the note from Mrs. Miyaki he met Selene and the others outside the classroom where he promptly threw his arms around her and gave her a huge hug, to which she responded. "Selene, it's been so long. I never thought I'd ever see you again after I had to move away. I missed you so much."  
  
"Hello to you too Hikari." Selene said smiling, once again using her nickname for the shorter boy. "Sorry I never got in touch, but things got a bit hectic after a while and I lost your new address. By the time I found it again it had been quite a while and I thought rude of me to just call up and assume you'd remember me."  
  
"How could I ever forget, you were my best and only friend back then. I could never forget you." Yugi said, his hold on his childhood friend even tighter than before. He pulled back slightly to take a good look at his old friend. She still had the tan colored hair that was just the right tone where it was too dark to be blond but too light to be considered brown though now it reached about midway down her back and was tied into a ponytail a little below the base of her neck and her eyes were still as green as any emerald. She had a set of stud earrings in that were in the shape of a pair of ankhs and the leather choker she had on had a silver crescent moon pendent hanging from it.  
  
"Neko," came the voice of one of the other boys present, "you know him?"  
  
Selene pulled out of the family-like embrace and turned to face the speaker. "Yes Damien I do. This is Yugi Motou, my only friend from my old city." She said. "Yugi these are my friends. Despite the fact that they may look like punks, they are really just big softies."  
  
Yugi turned to meet the dark sapphire eyes of Damien and for the first time fully noticed exactly what he looked like. Damien had shoulder length ebony black hair that was pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He also had a stud earring in his right ear in the shape of the Eye of Horus that Yugi recognized from the times he'd seen his yami about to use his shadow powers. His eyes seemed to look straight into Yugi's soul as though testing for any type of deceit. Evidently he didn't see any as his eyes soften a second later and he smiled a little.  
  
"Hi Yugi. As Neko just said my name is Damien. Nice to meet you."  
  
Next the red head came up and Yugi saw that his eyes were a very light bluish silver and sparkled with mischievousness and his red tresses were done up in small spikes. He too had an earring in his right ear, though his was in the shape of a small dagger. His smile, though, was very open and friendly. He took Yugi's hand and shook it as he said, "Hey Yugi! My name is Jake. Great to meet a friend of Sel's." And he would've said more if it wasn't for said girl pulling him away by the ear. Yugi was very grateful for this as the hand Jake had been shaking felt as though it were about to fall off. He may not have looked it with his lithe build, but Jake was very strong and Yugi had the feeling that they were all like that.  
  
"Baka," Selene said, "if you keep shaking his hand like that it's going to fall off." And Jake looked slightly sheepish before returning to his previous grin.  
  
Next was the boy with light colored brown hair that seemed to fall right into his face in a way that made it look completely wind-blown. His eyes sparkled and Yugi noticed that while one was a brown-green color the other was a dark scarlet. He too had an earring in his right ear, and it too was different from the others. His was in the shape of a small skull. "Hello Yugi. My name is Derek. It's great meeting you."  
  
Finally the blond boy came up. His hair fell loosely around his shoulders and his amber eyes sparkled, like Jake's, with mischievousness. He too had and earring in his right ear and like the others it was different. His was an owl. "Hi Yugi. Like the dimwit over there said," he gestured to Jake who promptly lunged at him and was held back by Damien, "it is great to meet a friend of Sel's. After all, any friend of hers is a friend of ours." He too shook Yugi's hand, though not nearly as hard as Jake had.  
  
"It's great to meet you all too," Yugi said. He smiled slightly at the group. "Well, I guess I need to take you on the tour," and with that they headed off.  
  
Yugi first stopped by his foreign language class, English, to drop off the note from Mrs. Miyaki. He then took a look at each of their schedules and saw that Damien and Selene had all the same classes as him and Jason, Jake, and Derek had all but one of the four classes with him. (This'll be a complicated method that I made up my self. Homeroom starts at 8:30 ends at 8:50. First class starts at 9 and ends at 10. Second class is from 10:10 to 11:10. Third class is from 11:20 to 12:20 then lunch from 12:30 to 1:30. Fourth class from 1:40 to 2:40 and finally a study period from 2:50 to 3:30 during which they could go to any classroom to do homework. This is meant to make sure that kids actually do their homework. Also the ten minutes in between classes is so kids can stop off at their lockers and the bathroom if need be.) He took them around the whole school twice before the first class was over and then he dropped Jason, Jake, and Derek off at woodwork and led Selene and Damien to art class. Second and third, computer, periods passed without any major mishaps and then it was lunchtime.  
  
Yugi showed the group to the cafeteria and, thinking that they'd want to eat by themselves, was about to head off to the corner table when Selene spoke to him.  
  
"Hey Yugi, where are you going?" she asked in a slightly confused voice.  
  
"Well, I thought you and the others might not want me to sit with you." Yugi replied simply.  
  
Selene looked shocked for a moment before grabbing his hand and dragging him over to the table the others had found, all the while saying, "Not want you to sit with us, are you crazy? Of course we want you to sit with us, you're our friend."  
  
As soon as they reached the small table in the right corner of the cafeteria Selene pretty much forced Yugi to sit at the table and he smiled slightly at her. As they began to eat their packed lunches, because no one knows what's in the school lunches and thus refused to eat them, Yugi look around at each of them and saw that they really did seem to want him here and unlike at the other table he wasn't ignored, quite the opposite actually. Since he was the only one who had lived in Domino for a while the others were asking him about the best places to hang out and already talking about plans for the weekend, and it was only Monday. He smiled again, but his smile dropped when he saw Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Ryou, Bakura, and Yami sitting at another table and laughing. Selene, sensing Yugi drop in mood, followed his gaze to see the others and then turned back to him.  
  
"What's wrong, Hikari?" she asked, immediately getting the attention of the rest of the small table.  
  
"It's nothing," Yugi replied, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with everybody watching him.  
  
"Like hell it's nothing. You were looking at that other table and suddenly your mood dropped. Now again, what's wrong? Your not the type for really random mood swings unless you've turned completely upside down since I last heard from you." Selene said, not giving up in the effort to find out exactly what was bothering her smaller friend.  
  
Yugi sighed, remembering just how well Selene had always been able to read him and just how stubborn she was when it came to finding out exactly what was bothering him. "It's just that, those guys used to be my friends but.." He paused, trying to come up with the right way to phrase it without coming across as a wimp or bursting into tears.  
  
But his efforts were all for naught when Selene, sensing his turmoil, pulled him into a reinsuring embrace. He suddenly burst into tears and told them everything that had happened, from completing the puzzle to the finals at Battle City and his friends' recent treatment of him. The whole table listened silently as he poured out what he'd obviously been holding back for too long a time. When he finished they sat in silence for a few moments, each completely absorbed in his or her own thoughts.  
  
TBC...  
  
An: What did you think? I'll really appreciate any and all reviews sent my way. Thank you all for reading and if you want more just review and tell me so. 


	3. Running Away

Running Away  
  
AN: Chapter three and this soon! It's a miracle. Though I still don't have a genre, please I need help!  
  
Disclaimer in first chapter along.  
  
Warning in first chapter, if you're a homophobe and are STILL reading this then you're too stupid waste my time on.  
  
This is what I have to say to all those that reviewed since I last updated: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! You don't know HOW much it helps me to know that people are actually reading my stories!  
  
The ones who've reviewed since I uploaded chapter two are the following:  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
yamiwith  
  
TheHikariWhoLovesBishis  
  
Anonymous  
  
Dark_Fox  
  
Sharem  
  
Doot  
  
Thank you all so much.  
  
Eventually...  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi  
  
~*~*~Last time~*~*~  
  
Yugi sighed, remembering just how well Selene had always been able to read him and just how stubborn she was when it came to finding out exactly what was bothering him. "It's just that, those guys used to be my friends but.." He paused, trying to come up with the right way to phrase it without coming across as a wimp or bursting into tears.  
  
But his efforts were all for naught when Selene, sensing his turmoil, pulled him into a reinsuring embrace. He suddenly burst into tears and told them everything that had happened, from completing the puzzle to the finals at Battle City and his friends' recent treatment of him. The whole table listened silently as he poured out what he'd obviously been holding back for too long a time. When he finished they sat in silence for a few moments, each completely absorbed in his or her own thoughts.  
  
~*~*~On with the story~*~*~  
  
'Oh gods,' Yugi thought after he'd gotten some semblance of control over his tears, 'they're probably going to think I'm just some kind of baby who needs to be taken care of and leave. Oh gods, please no.' Yugi shivered at the thought, still in the embrace Selene had pulled him into earlier.  
  
Selene's thoughts, however, were on a completely different tangent than what Yugi guessed they were. 'Oh man, Yugi. I can't believe it. Hasn't he been through enough already? I rescued him from one hell only to have him sent straight into another. Damn! I swear I won't let that happen again. He's like a little brother to me and I won't let him get hurt anymore.' She tightened her embrace when she felt him shiver in fear.  
  
The others thoughts ran along the same tangent as Selene's, though they didn't know anything about what he'd already been through so that wasn't there, but each of them promised themselves that they would protect him no matter what. They may have known him for only a few hours, but something about him just drew them to him. Selene's nickname, he was a hikari, an angel too. They were never going to let him get hurt again.  
  
"I'm sorry Yugi. I wish I could've been there. You've been through so much you didn't deserve already, and now this. I'm so sorry." Selene said.  
  
Yugi pulled back slightly and looked at her in shock. "You mean...you're not..disgusted or anything?" Then it was time for the others to look at him in shock.  
  
"Disgusted? Only at their horrible treatment of you. But I could NEVER be disgusted with you Hikari." Selene said, using her nickname for him in hopes of reassuring him.  
  
"Of course not. You did nothing wrong. Hell, from what I gather you did so much for them that they should be worshipping you like a god. Damn, I mean you risked life, sanity, mind, and soul to keep them safe and they do this. What I really want to do right now go over there and give them a very painful piece of my mind." Damien said. Jason, Jake, and Derek voiced their agreement, Jake fiddling with his dagger earring the whole time as though wishing to throw it at those people. And knowing him, none of them would really put it past him. He was just crazy enough to do it.  
  
"Thanks you guys." Yugi said, tears once again coming to his eyes though this time they were tears of happiness.  
  
"Don't mention it Yugi." They each said, or at least something along those lines.  
  
And with that the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
It had been nearly three months since the five new students had arrived. Yami and everyone else still ignored the tri-haired hikari, but now Yugi still had someone to talk to. He didn't normally talk about what was bothering him, but each of his five new friends, especially Selene, seemed to have the ability to get anyone to confess anything with just a few well chosen words. It was now November and the day before Yugi's sixteenth birthday, though he didn't expect anything from his new friends, as he had never mentioned when his birthday was, or his old, as they were still forgetting about him.  
  
It was that night, however that would start a chain of events that would turn everything in Yugi's life upside down. Yami came to him that night, it seems that he noticed how little Yugi was home now a days, tough he didn't know that it was because he was usually staying over at Selene, Damien, Derek, Jason, and Jack's apartment.  
  
"Yugi," Yami called from outside his hikari's door, "can I come in."  
  
'Oh no. Why now?' Yugi thought, but out loud he said, "Come in."  
  
Yami walked in and sat on the bed where he could get a good view of is hikari who was working on his homework at the desk.  
  
"Did you need something Yami?" Yugi asked, all the while praying that Yami would just leave. He had been a little uncomfortable around him since Yami had started to hang out with Yugi's old friends and started to ignore him. There was another reason that Yugi was uncomfortable around him, but only he knew that one. He hadn't even told Selene.  
  
"I was just wondering where you've been lately." Yami said, studying the emotions on his hikari's face. For some odd reason, to him, he was unable to decipher any of them.  
  
"At a friend's house," Yugi said cryptically. 'Great. Just great. After ignoring me for nine months he suddenly decides to pay attention and give me the third degree about why I haven't been at home alone as much. He doesn't even notice that he's ignored me for the past nine months.'  
  
"Which friend? Because Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Ryou, and Bakura don't know where you go either." Yami said. He and Bakura had been on speaking terms ever since Ryou and Bakura had gotten together because Bakura always wanted to be around his hikari and his hikari also wanted to be around his friends occasionally too.  
  
"Do you assume that just because I'm a little shy I can't make any new friends?" Yugi asked, trying to divert his yami's attention from his friend's name.  
  
"No, I didn't mean that. I was just wondering why you haven't hung out with us lately." Yami said. He was still trying to figure out exactly what his hikari was thinking. Though he hid it well, he was shocked when not only could he not read Yugi's face but he also couldn't pick up anything from the link the two of them shared.  
  
"Maybe because I was tired of being ignored." Yugi said. He put down the pencil and turned to face Yami who, to say the least, was shocked by what Yugi had just said.  
  
"What do you mean ignored?" He asked.  
  
"It's nothing." Yugi said, turning back to his desk and to his homework.  
  
"Yugi." Yami started, but Yugi interrupted him.  
  
"I said that it's nothing." Yugi said. He started to pretend to work hoping all the while that Yami would just leave.  
  
Yami sighed as he saw that he wasn't going to get anything out of Yugi today. He stood up and walked to the door, but before he left he sent a message through the link that they shared. //I wish you would just tell me what was wrong Hikari.//  
  
Yugi waited until he heard Yami shut the door to his room before he picked up the pillow from his bed, buried his face in it, and cried like he hadn't since the day he'd met Selene, Damien, and them. Talking to Yami, the one he'd realized he'd fallen in love with, and not telling him everything had cost him a lot. But it had also given him hope that maybe, just maybe, Yami might start noticing him and how he'd been ignoring him.  
  
The next day, his sixteenth birthday, however proved all his hopes for naught as Yami and them had, yet again, completely forgotten about him. But unlike before it was just finally too much. They had forgotten about him on his special day. When he got home to an empty house that afternoon he went upstairs and started packing a large backpack, as he knew Yami wouldn't be home until at least dinner time which was in three to four hours, with some clothes, money, and his grandfather's original dueling deck he also took off his Millennium Puzzle so Yami couldn't follow him when he realized that Yugi had left. He picked up the backpack and slung it onto his back before heading over to his real friend's apartment.  
  
When he reached their apartment 20 minutes later he was about to knock on the door it was suddenly opened and there stood Selene. She smiled down at him and said, "Hello Hikari. I was just about-" but she was interrupted when Yugi dropped his backpack and threw his arms around her much as he had the day that she'd come back, crying all the while.  
  
"Yugi, what's wrong?" Selene asked. She certainly hadn't been expecting this.  
  
"I can't take it anymore." Yugi said, though he didn't elaborate just yet.  
  
Selene, sensing that Yugi wasn't ready to talk about it just yet, didn't push any farther. When Yugi's tears were under control a couple minutes later she tilted his head back and said, "Don't know what exactly has you upset, but I've got something that might cheer you up." It was only then that Yugi heard what sounded like some people hurrying to put something together in the kitchen.  
  
Selene poked her head in the kitchen and said something that was muffled by the door before turning back to Yugi and gesturing for him to open the door.  
  
Yugi looked at her, confused, before doing just that and gasping in surprise. In front of him stood Damien, Jason, Jake, and Derek all of whom were standing slightly in front of a cake and a small pile of presents with a banner hanging that read 'Happy Birthday Hikari' and was obviously homemade. Each of them was wearing a huge grin and, turning back to Selene, he saw that she too was grinning that huge grin.  
  
"I was about to come get you for your surprise party Hikari. Happy sixteenth birthday!" she said, still grinning.  
  
"Yep, happy 16th Hikari! And may many more years come!" Jake shouted.  
  
"Dimwit, it's 'and for many more years to come.'" Derek said with a derisive yet playful snort.  
  
"He gets the idea you guys," Jason interrupted before either one could commence in the brawl that usually followed Derek calling Jake a dimwit.  
  
"Yeah, don't start another brawl here. It took long enough to get the cake right in the first place. We really don't want to go through that again." Damien said. Selene snickered at this. It had taken the boys nearly 15 tries to get it right, mainly because they refused to let her help. She was in charge of decorations and everything like that.  
  
All of the sudden Yugi burst into tears of joy and threw himself at the nearest person, Jake since Selene had stayed at the door when he had entered the kitchen and Jake had been moved away since he and Derek nearly started fighting. Jason, Derek, Damien, and Selene soon joined in the embrace.  
  
"I don't know how to thank you all enough. You've done so much for me." Yugi said, his voice slightly muffled from being in the very center of the very large hug.  
  
"You don't need to thank us. Just have fun." Selene said, and they commenced to do just that.  
  
It wasn't until around seven that they finally ran out of things to do, Yugi had arrived around four, and just plopped down onto the couch and the three armchairs.  
  
"Hey Yugi," Jason suddenly said, having spotted Yugi's abandoned backpack, "what is your backpack doing here for?"  
  
Yugi sobered immediately and Selene suddenly remembered how upset he had been when he'd arrived.  
  
"I'm running away from them," Yugi said in a tone that brooked no arguments, no that any one of them would have argued with him anyway. None of them thought that he should have to live in a house where he was almost constantly ignored.  
  
"Then come with us," Derek said, and Yugi looked at him slightly confused.  
  
"What do you mean come with you? You're not going anywhere are you?" Yugi asked, worried that his friends were going to leave him alone.  
  
"Not without you we weren't." Selene said. Everyone else nodded in agreement.  
  
"What do you mean? I think I missed something here." Yugi said, thoroughly confused by now.  
  
"Jason, you better explain this, either you or Selene. Anybody else's explanation will just probably just get him even more thoroughly confused." Damien said, voicing the opinion of the other four who actually knew what was going on.  
  
"Okay," Jason said, "let's start at the beginning. The five of us," here he gestured to himself, Selene, Damien, Derek, and Jake, "are part of a group that call themselves the Venator or huntsmen in English."  
  
Selene picked up here, "We are, basically, a group of thieves. Only we're not like most thieves. We're more the Robin Hood/Saint Tail type. Basically we steal back what has been illegally or unfairly taken and give it back to its original owners. We also steal from people who have too much and yet still complain about not having enough and making life hell for the people not as fortunate as them in the process."  
  
Yugi's attention was completely focused on his friends as they explained exactly what they were.  
  
"That's how we all met." Derek said. "We each joined the group because we ran away, were abandoned, or something along those lines. Though out of all of us, Selene here has been in it the longest. About two years more than us."  
  
"I was found by one of its members shortly after I ran away from home. As I had no where else to go and I liked the idea of trying to help punish those that hurt others I joined." Selene said.  
  
"I remember reading once that you had run away from home, and I never did see an article about you being found." Yugi said.  
  
"Yup. According to legitimate police records I'm missing and assumed dead. The records up at the school have a ton of made up information on it. Does for all of us, though the names are real enough." Jake said, deciding to add his two cents.  
  
"We all also got the symbol imprinted on us after we were completely sure we wanted to do this." Damien said while pulling down his collar to reveal a crescent moon wrapped around a sun with rays coming off the whole thing imprinted just below his right collar bone (for any of those who have seen the covers of the T*Witches books, it's basically what Cam's and Alex's necklaces would look like when attached together.) Selene, Jake, Jason, and Derek each tugged at their shirts to reveal the same mark.  
  
"You don't have to decide now, and even if you don't want to do the actual thieving you can be part of the group who gets all the information. Either way, none of us are leaving you here." Selene said and Yugi nodded.  
  
"Thanks you guys. I'd want to come with you anyway. When are we leaving?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Well, we can leave tomorrow." Jason said.  
  
"Tomorrow?!?! You mean you were going to leave anyway?" Yugi said.  
  
"Actually we didn't know when we were going to leave because the group, which I might add is rather rich itself, lent us one of the private jets. We can leave whenever we're ready. I just thought the sooner the better because who knows how long it'll take them to realize exactly where you've gone." Selene said.  
  
"Oh. Well, that's okay." Yugi said, then he yawned.  
  
"I guess we better get to bed," Selene said, "we have a long day tomorrow. Good night all."  
  
Everyone except Jake got up.  
  
"Yugi, you take my bed. I'll be fine on the couch." He said. Yugi was about to argue when he looked in Jake's eyes and saw that there was no way in hell he was going to convince the EXTREMELY stubborn young man to let him sleep on the couch.  
  
As the apartment fell silent one figure was still awake.  
  
'Tomorrow before we leave I will confront his "friends" about what happened and leave them to stew over it for the rest of their lives.' Selene thought before turning over and falling into a light sleep.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So what did you think? Please review, I'll appreciate any and all reviews sent my way.  
  
Also next chapter is that night when Yami comes home and doesn't find Yugi there and it'll probably be a song fic. chapter, just warning you now. Either that chapter or the next will have Selene confronting them, it all depends on the length of the chapter.  
  
Thanks all and have a good day! 


	4. Gone

Gone  
  
AN: Chapter four! Yeah!  
  
Disclaimer for this chapter is the fact that I don't own the song "If Only Tears Could Bring You Back" that is owned by Midnight Sons.  
  
I need HELP with the genre. I have absolutely NO idea what it should be.  
  
ALSO I need to know how many of you want Anzu(Tea)-bashing. This is basically a poll and I won't update the next chapter until I get at least three people telling me what they want.  
  
Two people added me to their favorites list!!!! You don't know how happy that's made me!  
  
Thanks to the following for reviewing:  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
zeynel  
  
Eventual...  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami //...// is Yami to Yugi  
  
~*~*~*~*~ is transition from song to story and back again  
  
Finally, Selene will be in the next chapter and just as you wished, she is going to give it to every last one of them so bad that they won't know what hit them.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
How will I start  
  
Tomorrow without you here  
  
Who's heart will guide me  
  
When all the answers disappear  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
When Yami came home that night it was to a dark looking house. All the lights were off. 'Strange,' Yami thought, 'Yugi usually leaves at least one light on. Maybe he's asleep.'  
  
As he reached for the key to the house he realized that the door was open and panicked. What if a thief or someone like that had come? What had happened to Yugi? Had he been hurt? Was he okay?  
  
Yami quickly opened the door and shut and locked it behind him. Seeing that nothing seemed out of place in the card shop he quickly raced up stairs to where the bedrooms were. He opened the door to Yugi's room expecting to see Yugi, only to find it empty, devoid of any sign of life.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Is it too late  
  
Are you too far gone to stay  
  
This one's forever  
  
Should never have to go away  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yami panicked and ran out of the doorway. First he opened Grandpa's room to see if Yugi was there asleep, as he would sometimes do when his grandpa was on an archeological dig as he was now. He didn't see anyone in there. Next he raced to his room only to find that it too was empty. He quickly searched every room in the house for his tri-haired hikari, only to find each and every room completely empty.  
  
Next he tried the link, only to be met with a void where the link, that was once so strong that it seemed nothing and no one could break it, was no more.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
What will I do  
  
You know I'm only half without you  
  
How will I make it through  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yami fell to his knees as he kept searching for the link he'd always shared with his hikari, still only finding the void. His hikari's presence had always been in the back of his mind, a reassuring light even in Ancient Egypt-though at the time he hadn't known what it was-but now it was gone. The bond the two of them shared had been severed.  
  
His light half was gone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
If only tears could bring you back to me  
  
If only love could find a way  
  
What I would do, what I would give if you  
  
Returned to me, someday  
  
Somehow, someway  
  
If my tears could bring you back to me  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
He got up and ran to Yugi's room, hoping praying that what his mind, body, and soul were screaming to be true was really false. Only to be confronted, once again, by an empty room. Though this time he did notice that some of the drawers were partially open as was the tin bank Yugi had used and a rather large backpack was gone. But none of that affected him as much as the last thing he noticed. The Millennium Puzzle was sitting on the desk, as though abandoned. Yami felt something run down his cheek and when he reached up to wipe it away, his hand came away wet. There were tears running down his face.  
  
He was crying.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
I'd cry you an ocean  
  
If you'd sail on home again  
  
Wings of emotion  
  
Will carry you, I know they can  
  
Just light will guide you  
  
And your heart will chart the course  
  
Soon you'll be drifting  
  
Into the arms of your true north  
  
Look in my eyes  
  
And you will see a million tears have gone by  
  
And still they're not dry  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Yami, to say the least, was shocked. He couldn't remember the last time he cried, though he knew that it was long before he'd become pharaoh at the age of thirteen. The tears came faster and faster and soon he had buried his face in his hands and began to sob silently. Where had his light gone, why had he left? Had he, Yami, done something to drive his little hikari away? Through all the questions in his mind, one stood out above all the others.  
  
Would he ever be able to bring his Yugi back?  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
If only tears could bring you back to me  
  
If only love could find a way  
  
What I would do, what I would give if you  
  
Returned to me, someday  
  
Somehow, someway  
  
If my tears could bring you back to me  
  
I hold you close  
  
And shout the words I only whispered before  
  
For one more chance, for one last dance  
  
There's not a thing that I would not give and more  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The last question shocked him. Not so much the question itself, but more the wording of the question. But Yugi was his, his hikari, his light. His soul mate. His muirn beatha dan. He hadn't realized it until just now, but he loved his hikari like no one else. Though not in the brotherly type way every one'd expect. More like the way he guessed that Bakura loved his own hikari. And he would do anything, anything just to bring him back into his arms, into his life. He'd shout out to the world that he loved his hikari.  
  
Just to bring the one he loved back to him, back into his arms for forever and a day.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
If only tears could bring you back to me  
  
If only love could find a way  
  
What I would do, what I would give if you  
  
Returned to me, someday  
  
Somehow, someway  
  
If my tears could bring you back to me  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
If only he could bring his hikari back. If only he could tell him how he felt. If only he hadn't been so blind to his own feelings before. If only he'd realized this sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened. These thoughts chased each other through Yami's mind until, exhausted, he fell asleep right where he was, in the doorway of his light's room. Only to have his thoughts follow him in the form of nightmares.  
  
AN: What did you all think? I thought the song fit, but that's just me.  
  
I need help right here. I need you to tell me if you want Anzu(Tea)- bashing. I've never done it before, but I can try. I didn't want to just do it because I wanted to know what all of you wanted. Just tell me in a review. THANKS!!!! 


	5. Confrontation

Confrontation  
  
AN: The next chapter already! Yeah!  
  
New warning: slight (non-graphic mind you) mentions of rape and abuse. Only a few sentences and none of those describing it. So don't be scared off 'cause of that.  
  
I've gotten one suggestion for the genre of this story, angst/romance. What do you all think? I think it might fit, but I want more opinions too.  
  
Thanks to all my reviewer, I can NEVER tell you quite how much I appreciate you. Thanks to:  
  
cat  
  
Crystal D. Starlit Aka Dark_fox  
  
Tjay Motou  
  
Rain and Styorm  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
Silver Mist4  
  
Loanwolf  
  
For those who were wondering what "muirn beatha dan" meant, it means "soul mate" and I got it from the "Sweep" series. I'll have to double check which language it's in though. I thought that it would be a nice touch since technically Yami has lived for a few millennia so he might know several different languages.  
  
And this chapter will not involve Anzu bashing as I got a review asking for it not to be here. I don't really have an opinion my self, it mainly depends on how she acts in the fic. I'm currently reading. I'll just not use her much so no one can get pissed at me for NOT doing some bashing and no one CAN get pissed for me doing any bashing.  
  
~*~...~*~ will change POV, though the whole thing is in third person. Sorry if that confuses you, but you'll get it when you read the story.  
  
You know the drill...  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
'Tomorrow before we leave I will confront his "friends" about what happened and leave them to stew over it for the rest of their lives.' Selene thought before turning over and falling into a light sleep.  
  
~*~*~  
  
If only he could bring his hikari back. If only he could tell him how he felt. If only he hadn't been so blind to his own feelings before. If only he'd realized this sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened. These thoughts chased each other through Yami's mind until, exhausted, he fell asleep right where he was, in the doorway of his light's room. Only to have his thoughts follow him in the form of nightmares.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yami woke up from his realm of nightmare that morning hoping to find that the previous night had been a dream, a very bad and scary dream. But that hope was crushed when he felt the hard floor underneath him instead of his bed. He choked back another sob as he headed to the bathroom to clean himself up.  
  
When he came out he looked at the clock and found it to be noon. Then he heard a knock at the door. He ran over to open it, hoping beyond hope that it was Yugi, only to find a very confused Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Ryou, and, though he refused to show it, Bakura.  
  
"Yami, what happened to you?" Honda said. "We were supposed to meet over at the arcade half an hour ago."  
  
Yami listlessly gestured for them to come inside and, after they had all taken a seat, proceeded to tell them what he'd come home to find last night. When he finished everyone sat in a stunned silence. None of them would've thought that Yugi'd run away, much less why he might want to. As far as any of them knew he was perfectly fine.  
  
Suddenly the doorbell rang, startling each of them out of their morbid thoughts. Jonouchi, seeing that Yami was in no shape to get the door, answered it for him. When he opened the door he was saw a young, sixteenish looking girl standing on the front porch, her tan colored hair shining in the sun and her emerald eyes flashing.  
  
~*~Selene~*~  
  
Selene had left around noon for Yugi's house. Yugi himself was still asleep and she had left it to Damien to tell the others, except Yugi, when he woke them up. She didn't want him to tell Yugi 'cause she had a feeling that he'd try to stop her.  
  
Selene arrived at Yugi's house after twenty minutes of walking and thinking, though all the latter did was get her temper up even more. She was ready to barge up the steps, get inside the house, and give them a big and very painful piece of her mind. And she would've done just that as the door opened, that is until she saw the person answering it. Her eyes caught the form of an extremely devastated look Jonouchi.  
  
'Hmm, maybe I should try a different approach than just flat out yelling at the first person I see. If Jonouchi answered the door then the others are probably here too. I'll just use that to my advantage.' Selene quickly changed the scream she'd been about to throw into a pleasant smile.  
  
~*~General~*~  
  
"Hello, is Yugi home?" the girl said.  
  
Jonouchi, confused, took a good look at the girl. She had long tan colored hair that was tied into a ponytail a little below the base of her neck and emerald green eyes. She was wearing what appeared to be black blue jean hip huggers and a tight black shirt with a short-sleeved, black leather jacket on top of that. She also wore a leather choker with a silver crescent moon pendent hanging off of it, a pair of ankh earrings, and a pair of sunglasses resting atop her head. He took a few seconds, trying to place where he'd seen her before, before recognizing her as one of the five new students from three months ago.  
  
"Why're you askin'?" Jonouchi said.  
  
Selene sighed. "Because he was supposed to meet me and my friends about forty-five minutes ago." She lied smoothly, she'd had a lot of practice from all the times they'd almost been caught in the very beginning.  
  
Jonouchi sighed and invited the girl in. Who knows, she might have some clue as to where Yugi'd gone. Or, for that matter, why he'd gone in the first place.  
  
Selene followed the blonde into a room and she saw exactly who she was hoping to see: Yami, Honda, Ryou, Bakura, and Anzu. Much as she was jumping for joy on the inside to have all her prey gathered in one place, she kept a slightly confused look on her face.  
  
"Who was in Jonouchi?" Anzu asked, not yet seeing Selene.  
  
"One of the new kids in school. Yugi was supposed to meet her and her friends today." Jonouchi said, stepping aside to reveal Selene.  
  
"Would one of you mind telling me what's going on?" Selene said, though she knew very well exactly what was going on.  
  
"Yugi's gone, he ran away." Yami said.  
  
Selene kept her face carefully devoid of any emotion as she said, "Really? Well, to be honest I'm not really that surprised."  
  
This simple statement had just the effect Selene was hoping for. Everyone's attention instantly snapped to her.  
  
"What do you mean you're not surprised?" Yami said, as he was the first to get over his shock.  
  
"If you were actually paying attention it would be obvious to you too." Selene said, deciding to torture them a bit.  
  
"What do you mean?" Ryou said.  
  
"Well," she said, turning to Jonouchi, "Jonouchi tell me, when was the last time you talked to Yugi?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Jonouchi said, wondering why the hell she would ask such a question.  
  
Selene's eyes hardened in anger as she said in a voice colder than ice, "Just answer the question. When was the last time you talked to Yugi?"  
  
Jonouchi opened his mouth to answer her when he realized that, to his horror, he couldn't remember the last time he'd talked to the tri-haired hikari.  
  
"Can't answer?" Selene said, voice as cold as ever, before turning to stare each of them in the eyes, asking the same question of each of them. No one, not even Bakura or Yami, could answer her nor meet her gaze for more than a few seconds.  
  
"You want to know why he left? Well, to be honest I'm shocked that he hadn't left sooner. YOU all have been ignoring him for the past NINE MONTHS! THAT is why he left!" Selene shouted at them, shocking each of them into silence. "I only thank the gods that he had somewhere to turn to otherwise he might've taken a more PERMANENT way out."  
  
"What do you mean a more permanent way out?" Yami asked, dreading the answer he was sure to come.  
  
"You know exactly what I mean! I mean suicide!" she shouted at them. "After all, what would you expect. He's been living in HELL for the past nine months!! He'd been through enough before now and NOW YOU ALL go and do THIS!!!! You forgot his DAMN BIRTHDAY for heaven's sake!!!! When my friends and I knew and they've only known him for THREE FREAKIN' MONTHS!!!!"  
  
Everyone fell silent for a moment, all but Selene caught up in his or her guilt. How could they have not noticed this? Weren't they supposed to be Yugi's friends?  
  
Suddenly Bakura spoke up. "What do you mean he's been through enough before now?" This caught the attention of everyone who instantly turned their eyes to Selene.  
  
Selene, for her part, was shocked. They didn't know. Well, that explained some of it but still. "You don't know? You don't know?! You don't damn well know?!?! Tell me then, do any of you have ANY idea why Yugi's living with his grandfather instead of his parents?" she said.  
  
Yami was the first to speak this time. "He never told us. I just assumed that they were dead."  
  
Selene turned her back on them and said, "I wish. His mother is dead, but his father, oh you could never understand how much I want to kill his bastard of a father with my bare hands. Do you want to know exactly what happened where Yugi and I used to live, in Siaka city?" She turned back to them and her gaze frightened each and every one of them. While just a few seconds ago her emerald eyes were blazing in anger, now they looked dead, haunted.  
  
With quite a bit of trepidation, they each nodded. Suddenly a smile colder than anything they had yet seen graced her lips.  
  
"Okay then. Imagine this. You live in the worst part of a city. This is the area that rapists, muggers, gangsters, and those sort absolutely love to live. You live with your abusive father for three long years and with no friends before finally meeting one, and only one. No one seems to notice the new bruises that appear on you everyday, or if they do they either don't care or are too afraid to say anything. Meanwhile both you and your friend are perfect targets for bullies and get a beating from them every day. Imagine living this way for eight long years. Then one night your father comes home piss-ass drunk and pissed as hell. You try to hide but that just gets you beat worse than before. Suddenly, as you lay half- unconscious on the floor, he does the unthinkable. He rapes you. The next day you awaken in the hospital and are told you are to be taken away from him forever to live with a family member you'd been told was dead ever since your mother died and your father moved with you at the age of three. Can you imagine what kind of hell that would be? Well, that's what Yugi had to go through and I had to sit by and watch the whole damn thing because I was a child and no one was going to believe me over the adults. Absolutely no one."  
  
The others stared in shock as Selene's story came to a close. Yugi had had to live through that. How had he managed to stay as pure as he had?  
  
Suddenly Selene's eyes lost the dead look and she turned around to leave. But she stopped at the doorway and said, "When you figure out where Yugi is, come to my apartment. It's in the phone book under Selene Chousen." And with that said she walked out, slamming the door behind her.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was now about six, five hours after Selene had left, and Yami was lying on his bed. Everyone else had left shortly after Selene had, each still in shock over finding out about Yugi's past. To think that the tri- haired tenshi had had to deal with so much. Selene had been right, it was amazing that Yugi was still alive, much less sane. To think that because of his ignorance Yugi might've killed himself.  
  
'I only thank the gods that he had somewhere to turn to otherwise he might've taken a more PERMANENT way out.' Selene's words ran through Yami's head again as they had been since she'd first said them, but this time something clicked.  
  
'It sounded like she knew where he was. She also said when we found him. Oh gods, Selene knows where Yugi is!' with that thought Yami shot out of bed.  
  
He ran downstairs and quickly called Jonouchi and told him what he'd just realized. Jonouchi, though shocked, said that he'd call Honda and meet over at Yami's house in ten minutes. In the mean time Yami called Ryou and Anzu who both said that they were coming, and Ryou promised to bring his yami along.  
  
As soon as they all got there they set off for the address that Yami had found in the phone book. The twenty-minute walk seemed to take forever. When they arrived at the apartment building they quickly took the elevator to the fifth floor and went to room 522.  
  
They knocked on the door for a few minutes until a passing janitor said, "If your looking for the people who used to live there they left a couple hours ago, all six of them and it didn't seem like they were coming back."  
  
"One of the boys," Yami said, stepping forward in desperation, "did he look a lot like me?"  
  
The janitor studied him for a moment before snapping his fingers and saying, "Yeah, the shortest one of the group. He had a very odd hairstyle. Just a moment, I have a note here that the young lady of the group told me to give to a man who looked like the kid." The janitor rummaged through his pocket for a moment before extracting a piece of notebook paper and walking off.  
  
The six of them leaned in to read the note. The writing was very elegant and the note read, 'It seems you figured it out, but by the time your reading this we'll be gone. Don't even try to find us as it is impossible. Come Monday all the school records of Damien, Jake, Jason, Derek, and myself will have disappeared as if they never existed and as you know Yugi is missing. Let this be a lesson to you, you always reap what you sow. ~Selene'  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: What did you think? Please review and tell me, all reviews will be appreciated. 


	6. Going Back

Going Back  
  
AN: Next chapter coming up!  
  
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! To all those that reviewed, you could never really understand just how much your reviews helped me, especially to those who actually put me on their favorite list. Thanks to the following people:  
  
vmr  
  
Sharem  
  
MoonFox and MoonLightWolf  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
Princess Strawberry  
  
SoulDreamer  
  
Crystal D. Starlit  
  
zeynel  
  
I have two reviews that say the genre should be angst/romance. Does anyone at all disagree? If not then I'll change it within the next couple of chapters.  
  
You know the rest...  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
The six of them leaned in to read the note. The writing was very elegant and the note read, 'It seems you figured it out, but by the time your reading this we'll be gone. Don't even try to find us as it is impossible. Come Monday all the school records of Damien, Jake, Jason, Derek, and myself will have disappeared as if they never existed and as you know Yugi is missing. Let this be a lesson to you, you always reap what you sow. ~Selene'  
  
~*~*~*~ On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi sighed as he looked into the mirrors. It has been nearly two years since he had left Domino and all his old 'friends' behind, though he did make sure to contact his grandpa to tell him he was all right, he didn't want to give him a heart attack. Yugi's grown since then and now he would be as tall as Yami, with his violet eyes more slanted, though they still held an unbelievable amount of innocence to those who knew what to look for. Nearly two long years of living with Selene, Damien (both of whom were now a couple), Jake, Derek, and Jason (all of whom had gotten together about two months ago) and now they had to go back. They were going on a mission to steal back some treasures that a new museum there had illegally obtained.  
  
Even now Yugi could remember the first hours in what would be his home for the next two years like it had happened yesterday. That's because that was the day one chapter in his life closed and a new, exciting one opened. It was the day his life pretty much changed for the best for once.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yugi looked around in wonder as they traveled through a huge building, the building that would soon become his new home. They had already registered him and gotten approval for him to join his new friend's group, now he just needed his weapons.  
  
Selene stopped and smiled at Yugi. She was the one who would find the weapons for him to use, as she was the best at reading people and thus finding the weapon that was perfect for them the quickest. As they entered the room Yugi's jaw dropped at the sheer size of the selection of weapons lining the walls of the huge room. Selene studied him for a moment before heading over to the short blades. She picked up a pair of daggers and handed them to him.  
  
"Here try these things. They may not look like much, but when used correctly they can sure as hell pack a wallop." She said. Yugi slowly took the hilts in his hand and, as though he'd been doing it all his life, started moving them extremely gracefully. When he looked at Selene in shock she just smiled.  
  
"How?" Yugi asked. The weapons felt like he'd used them before, they seemed to work for him as his own arms and legs might.  
  
"Every person in the world has three weapons that they seem to be destined for. From the moment you pick one of them up they seem to become a part of your body. They feel as though you've used them before, and well at that. It looks like the daggers are one of your three. Jake uses them too so he could teach you best, though I use the sias that are very similar so I could help or teach you when he can't." Selene said, gesturing to the blades in the holsters that hung from her hips, one on each hip. She had picked up all of her own weapons from her room just after registering Yugi. She also had what looked like shuriken holsters strapped to the outside of her shins and thighs and something strapped across he back that look like a hilt of a sword with a blade coming out of each end and had a strange design on the hilt Yugi hadn't been able to see yet.  
  
Selene handed him the sheaths for the daggers, which he promptly put said daggers in, and showed him how to hook them to his belt before walking to look at more weapons. Yugi ended up with the daggers, some poisoned darts, and a blade similar to Selene's. She had been slightly amazed at that, and when he asked why she answered him simply, still with a slightly shocked look on her face.  
  
"The swords you and I carry have been waiting since they were made for the perfect people to command them. These were made over a hundred years ago. There are a couple others, but so far mine has been the only one to be used. I thought you might be able to use it, should it ever come to that, the second I saw you again. Don't ask me why, 'cause I don't understand it myself. I just know what I know."  
  
~*~*~  
  
With his speed and intelligence Yugi had quickly gotten to the point where he could match Selene blow-for-blow when they were practicing together.  
  
Now they all had to go back to the damn city Domino all because of some stupid new museum. Evidently, though, Selene had tried to get them another place but all the other groups were currently busy or on vacation so they had to go to Domino.  
  
"Hey, Hikari. You ready to go?" came Selene's voice from the doorway, pulling Yugi out of his musings to smile at his old friend.  
  
"Yeah, let's go." He said simply.  
  
As they were walking Selene spoke up, "You do know that we're going to have to register at the school again, don't you. We'd still be in high school after all and someone might think it suspicious that there are six high school drop-outs that somehow managed to acquire a pretty good apartment."  
  
Yugi nodded. He knew that all right, and he was not looking forward to it. They would be in the same grade and his old 'friends' and yami. But suddenly he got an idea and grinned.  
  
"Selene," Yugi said and she looked at him in curiosity, "do you think we might have a little time for some pay back while we're there? After all, we've been given the perfect opportunity, why not use it?"  
  
Selene grinned at them as they reached the front doors. "My, my Hikari, that sounds like the perfect idea. We'll make sure to run it by Damien and the others on the plane."  
  
Yugi grinned. They were going to have fun. It was time for a little pay back for the pain that they'd caused him a couple of years ago. His old friend weren't going to know what hit them.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: What do you think? Please review and tell me what you think. Also I would like to know what you all think at having angst/romance as the genre. Thanks all! 


	7. Chance Meetings

Chance Meetings  
  
AN: I'm having fun writing this fic.  
  
Thanks to all those that reviewed and have put me on their favorite lists. I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again. You all can't imagine how much your reviews help me. Thanks to:  
  
Sharem  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
SoulDreamer  
  
Nuria  
  
Akane (aka Yami_Ryou)  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
If no one objects, next chapter I'll change the genre to angst/romance. I know I've said this plenty of times, but I wanted to give people plenty of time to read the announcement.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi grinned. They were going to have fun. It was time for a little pay back for the pain that they'd caused him a couple of years ago. His old friend weren't going to know what hit them.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi smiled as he looked around the apartment Selene had managed to get for them for their stay. It was a bit larger, and definitely fancier, than the last one they'd stayed in on a mission. That apartment had been chosen by Jake and to say the least it sucked big time.  
  
"Hey, Hikari," Damien called from the kitchen. Yugi walked over there and saw the other members of his team sitting around the table. "We were wondering if you would like to go to the arcade or a movie or something since we don't have to start our mission till tomorrow."  
  
Yugi smiled, "Yeah, let's go to the arcade. I'd rather not have a repeat of what happened last time we took these three," he gestured to Jake, Derek, and Jason, "to a movie. I swear no one could hear the actual movie over you three."  
  
Yugi, Selene, and Damien grinned as the three others blushed.  
  
"Hey, it was Jake that started it, not me." Jason said.  
  
"Yeah, neither of us started it." Derek added.  
  
"Well, you didn't exactly object now did you?" Selene said, still grinning the cat that caught the canary grin.  
  
"I sure as hell didn't hear any objections from either of you." Yugi said, joining his best friend in her teasing.  
  
"Nor me. Quite the contrary in fact. It sounded like you sincerely enjoyed it." Damien said, his grin matching Selene's and Yugi's easily.  
  
"Lets just go to the damn arcade." Derek said, trying to avoid more teasing. He got lucky, his other friends were feeling generous today. Usually he wouldn't get off that easily.  
  
"Okay then." Yugi said, and they head off to the arcade, unable to know that that simple decision would yet again lead to a change in their lives forever.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It had been nearly two long years since Yugi had left, yet Yami never stopped thinking about his hikari. Not a day had passed that Yami hadn't shed tears of regret. He often times wished he could turn back time to try and correct his mistake. If he could've he would've made sure that Yugi was never alone. But these were just wishes he knew would never, could never, come true. For all he knew, Yugi was gone forever.  
  
Jonouchi and everyone else did all they could to try and cheer him up, but it never worked. But hey, who ever said any of them were about to give up. It was just that incentive that had brought them out to the arcade that particular afternoon. Unknown to anyone there, fate had something up her sleeve and the dice were about to be cast.  
  
"Come on Yami, let's watch Jonouchi and Honda pulverize each other in the racing game." Anzu said, pulling the reluctant pharaoh along.  
  
They watched Jonouchi and Honda play when, just as the third game finished, they heard some teenagers talking behind them.  
  
"Hey, did you see the chick playing on DDR? She's kicking ass, so far no one here has beat her. And she lets them choose the songs too!" said one boy.  
  
"Whoa, awesome. She's gotta be amazing. Probably better than the last champion Anzu. Let's go check her out." And with that the two teenage boys ran over to the DDR machine, where a large crowd had already gathered.  
  
"Hey guys, let's go check out who's playing the DDR machine." Anzu said. Truth be told, each of them was curious who this girl the boys were talking about was.  
  
As they got nearer they saw that the girl had just taken on a new person and both were dancing to a past-paced American song. When they could finally see the players they were shocked speechless. Both were people they hadn't seen for two years. First they saw the girl, as she was closest to them, and they immediately recognized her tan hair and green eyes as belonging to the person who had coldly told them about the life of their best friend, one face they could never forget, Selene Chousen. Her opponent, however, shocked them the most by far. They saw the spiky tri- colored hair that only belonged to two people, one of whom was standing right beside them. The other was the friend that they'd lost two years ago. The other was none other that Yugi Mutou.  
  
~*~*~Earlier~*~*~  
  
Yugi and everyone had just arrived at the arcade when they heard a man challenging anyone to a game of DDR. Yugi gulped and look at Selene, his suspicions proving right when he saw the glint in her eyes. She just couldn't resist a challenge.  
  
Yugi snorted at that thought. 'Challenge my ass. So far I've been the only one who's ever been able to beat her at anything period. This guy has no chance.' And indeed he was right because when their scored came up Selene had gotten an A and the other guy had gotten and F. Selene challenged several other people, though the results stayed the same and by this time they had gotten quite a crowd. Finally she turned to Yugi.  
  
"C'mon Hikari, dance. You're the only one here who could possibly challenge me and you know it." She said, and Yugi blushed at the compliment. He sighed and walked up onto the platform.  
  
"Who picks?" he asked. They usually took turns picking as they could both dance to any style thrown at them. After all, they'd been practicing since Selene, Damien, Jake, Jason, and Derek had somehow gotten him on this thing for the first time and they had found out that, out of the five of them, only he could match Selene step-for-step  
  
"You pick, I picked last time." Selene said, and Yugi picked out one of their favorites. It was an extremely fast paced American song that most people couldn't keep up with. They liked it because, when they were facing each other, it challenged them to not only keep up with the music but also with each other like no other song could.  
  
As the music started they both started dancing like they hadn't a care in the world, neither noticing the addition of four familiar faces to the crowd. Though Damien and the other did notice and kept a close eye on them. When the music stopped both Selene and Yugi were panting and sweating slightly. The game turned out to be a draw and they high-fived each other in congratulations. When Yugi look back toward his other friends he suddenly caught the eyes of a very familiar face, a face that belonged to the man he had once fallen in love with.  
  
As hard violet eyes met dark scarlet time seemed to stop.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: I bet you all just hated that end to a chapter didn't you. Though the confrontation won't be happening till either the next chapter or the one after just because that's the way I want things to happen. You'll understand later, hopefully. But on the good side, the revenge will start at the same time. This is just basically a bridge to show how they first see each other again.  
  
I wanted to be different so I didn't make them first see each other again at school like most others do. Though you may see some similarities as it's difficult not to when I read so many like my own. Sorry to any of those whose ideas I may have used without realizing it.  
  
DDR, or Dance Dance Revolution, is an arcade game where two people stand on two separate platforms and move their feet on the different arrows as the screen in front of them shows them where to go. Depending on how you do the machine will either insult or compliment you. This game is first seen in the YGO series on the episode where Yami and Anzu go to an arcade and Anzu challenges Johnny Steps, who was at the time the best.  
  
Please review as it will help as I'm writing this. 


	8. Hello Again

Hello Again  
  
AN: I swear this has got to be the easiest fic. that I've ever written.  
  
And this chapter took a little longer because two of the women who go to my karate school tested for their black belts on Sunday and one of them took our family out for a celebration dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Otherwise it probably would've been out yesterday. We were at the restaurant for about two hours and I was at the test itself from about two-thirty to four. By the time I might've had time to write it was time for us to take a shower and go to bed 'cause I had school today.  
  
Thanks to all those that reviewed. That would be the following:  
  
Yugi Motou  
  
Dark_Fox  
  
SoulDreamer  
  
I also got a review from someone that seems to believe that this'll be a straight fic. or something. Sorry, but incase you missed it, this will be a shonen-ai, yaoi, gay story.  
  
Finally, this fic. is now officially an angst/romance fic. as no one objected.  
  
You know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
As the music started they both started dancing like they hadn't a care in the world, neither noticing the addition of four familiar faces to the crowd. Though Damien and the other did notice and kept a close eye on them. When the music stopped both Selene and Yugi were panting and sweating slightly. The game turned out to be a draw and they high-fived each other in congratulations. When Yugi look back toward his other friends he suddenly caught the eyes of a very familiar face, a face that belonged to the man he had once fallen in love with.  
  
As hard violet eyes met dark scarlet time seemed to stop.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yami was shocked. Yugi had changed so much. He could now easily reach his, Yami's, height. His once wide, innocent eyes had narrowed, though behind a mask could be seen a untouchable innocence, and his body had definitely filled out. It looked like Yugi had worked out quite a bit in the past two years.  
  
Yugi, too, was surprised. This was the last place he had expected to first see his yami again. He knew he'd see him at school, but he hadn't been prepared for this. 'He hasn't changed a bit.' Was the only thought running through Yugi's head at the moment.  
  
Selene, seeing that her friend had temporarily gone into shock, grabbed Yugi's hand and practically dragged him off the platform. That seemed to shake Yugi back to his senses and he quickly followed Selene as she ran out of the arcade, away from his ex-friends and yami.  
  
Yami, Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu snapped out of their shocked state as Yugi and Selene ran out of the arcade. They tried to follow, but they were stopped just outside the door by three of the group of four boys that had been standing near them. The one with longish black hair also ran out of the arcade and followed Yugi and Selene. The group recognized them as the group that had always been around Selene two years ago, but they couldn't, for the life of them, remember their names.  
  
"Get out of the way," Yami said. He was desperate to go after his hikari.  
  
"No," said the red head, "you see, those three are our friends and we'd rather not have them bothered if they don't want to be."  
  
"Just move, please," Anzu pleaded.  
  
"To get to them, you'll have to get past me." Said the boy with the light brown hair.  
  
"We don't have time for this, we have to go after Yugi." Jonouchi said, and he threw a punch at the last one who'd spoken. Now normally he wouldn't have done that, but right now he was desperate to go after his friend that he hadn't seen in what felt like forever. However, even his impulse action didn't work.  
  
No one except the one's that had been with him in the first place saw exactly what the brown haired kid did to Jonouchi. All the others, including Jonouchi himself, knew was that one moment he was throwing a punch and the next he was flying over the other guy's shoulder to land harshly on his back, knocking the breath out of him. Next Honda came at the other guy and he aimed a kick to the guy's ribs. However all he hit was air as, at the last moment, the other guy had ducked down low and then kicked Honda's supporting leg out from under him. This caused him to land on Jonouchi, who was just about to get up, yet again forcing him to the ground and knock the breath out of him.  
  
"Like I said, to get to them you'll have to get past us, and that'll be a damn hard job to complete." And with that said the other three took off in the opposite direction that Selene, Yugi, and Damien had gone, though Yami and everyone didn't know that. All that the other three did was take a roundabout way home.  
  
Yami and Anzu, knowing that they probably wouldn't be able to catch the other teens even if they had been willing to leave Jonouchi and Honda lying on the ground, reached down and helped up Honda and the still winded Jonouchi.  
  
"I did see Yugi, didn't I? I'm not hallucinating or anything." Anzu said.  
  
"Not unless we all saw the same, and very painful I might add, hallucination." Jonouchi said, rubbing his back.  
  
"It was Yugi, I'm sure of it. And that means the he's back." Yami said. He didn't say it, but this thought made him extremely hopeful. Maybe, just maybe, he would get a chance to clear everything up with his hikari and hopefully confess how he felt.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yugi and Selene arrived home about ten minutes after they left the arcade and Damien arrived shortly after them, followed by the others who arrived about five minutes after him.  
  
"Well, for lack of a better word, that was most definitely interesting and unexpected." Selene said once they had all gathered in the living room.  
  
"At least we now know that most of them didn't leave. Though we still have no idea about the white haired ones, I think their names were Ryou and Bakura." Damien added from his place beside Selene on the smaller of the two couches. Jason, Derek, and Jake sat on the larger and Yugi sat in one of the two armchairs.  
  
"We also know that they definitely want to talk to Yugi at least." Jason said from where he was sitting between his boyfriends Jake and Derek.  
  
"And how, pray tell, do we know that for sure? We guessed it, sure. But we don't know for sure." Yugi said.  
  
"Well, we kinda had a rather abrupt encounter with them after you all took off." Jason said.  
  
"Or rather, the blonde and brunette boy both had a very personal encounter with the concrete right outside the arcade." Jake said, a grin plastered on his face, and Derek blushed.  
  
"And what exactly does that mean?" Damien asked, now grinning himself.  
  
"It means that they tried to forcefully get past me and I stopped them." Derek said. "I didn't start it, I swear."  
  
"Sure you didn't." Jason said, deciding to add his two cents. "All you said was that to go after Yugi, Selene, and Damien they would have to get past you. A near impossible feat I might add."  
  
"Hey guys, I just got an idea." Selene said, a mischievous grin creeping it's way onto her face.  
  
"What is it?" Yugi asked, he could tell by the look on her face that the person on the wrong end of the idea was not going to like it.  
  
"Well, you know how you had feelings for Yami, right." Selene said to Yugi, the only one other than Yugi who knew that he probably still did have feelings for him. The others guessed it, but none of them knew for sure.  
  
"Yeah," Yugi said, his face hinting at pink. Even now, talking about this kind of stuff still caused a slight blush to form on his cheeks.  
  
"Well, what if, for a little while and only in public, one or more of us pretended to be the one that's with you. It's has the advantage of not only keeping admirers of yours at arms length, but also keep Yami from trying anything just yet, 'cause I have a feeling that he may feel the same way you do." Selene said, and Yugi's cheeks turned slightly redder.  
  
"Okay then, but who?" Yugi asked, trying and failing miserably to hide his blush.  
  
"Well," Jason said, "now no one get pissed at this idea, but I think it should probably be Selene. Not only did you," he turned to Selene, "come up with the idea, but if your guess is right it might discourage Yami a little. After all, with any of the rest of us you're real sexuality would be obvious and he wouldn't be quite as wary. Plus the fact that having you in a gay relationship would gain us extra attention that we really don't need. But that is all up to you three." At this he gestured to Yugi, Selene, and Damien.  
  
"Yeah," Derek said, "it's kinda like how we usually have to pretend to be just 'friends' whenever we're out in a public place where it's easy for us to be noticed and we're on a mission at the same time."  
  
"I can't say that I'll be entirely comfortably with this, but you guys are right and I would do just about anything to help you Yugi." Damien said with a sigh.  
  
"It's fine with me, after all we're already really good friends and we would just have to put on a bit of a show for others to think that we're a couple. Many already did before I got together with Damien" Selene said.  
  
"It'll be okay with me as long as you two are completely sure." Yugi said, and Damien and Selene nodded.  
  
They all sat in silence for a while, each lost in their thoughts about what was to happen the next day when they join the school. Then the silence was broken by Derek saying, "Well, if we're to get up early tomorrow for school we better head off to bed." And he got up, shortly followed by Jake and Jason.  
  
"Just make sure you actually sleep tonight!" Selene called after them, making Damien and Yugi burst into fits of laughter and a shout of indignation to come from the room the three boys had just entered.  
  
As they all dropped off the sleep that night, they all had the same thought in their heads. Tomorrow would definitely be an interesting day.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was Monday morning and Yami, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda were currently telling Ryou and Bakura exactly what had happened at the arcade the other day. Or more the like, Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda were telling them while Yami was still thinking over what had happened.  
  
Just as they had finished telling the two white haired boys what had happened the day before, the bell sounded, signaling everyone to get into their seats as the teacher walked in.  
  
"Good morning class." Mr. Jiro said and continued when the class answered back. "Today we have a very special surprise for you all. It seems that we have some transfer students joining us. Though you don't have to worry because they do speak Japanese, as it is their native language. Please come in." He directed the last part to the open door and in walked familiar faces to anyone that had been in the school two years ago.  
  
Yami and everyone else watched in slight shock as the four boys from the arcade yesterday, Selene, and Yugi walked into the class room, Yugi and Selene right in the middle of the group with the boy with ebony hair to Selene's right and the boy with blond hair to his right. To Yugi's left stood the boy with light brown hair, the one who had beaten Jonouchi and Honda the day before, and to his left was the red head.  
  
"Okay, will you please give your names to the class?" Mr. Jiro asked.  
  
The red head spoke first. "My name is Jake Meitou."  
  
The boy with light brown hair followed Jake. "My name is Derek Bushi."  
  
Next was the boy with ebony hair. "My name is Damien Kushin."  
  
Then the blonde, "My name is Jason Chisei."  
  
Next was Selene, the only girl of the group, "My name is Selene Chousen."  
  
And finally it was Yugi's turn. "My name is Yugi Mutou."  
  
The whole class went deadly silent. Everyone, and I mean everyone, had heard of Yugi Mutou, King of Games, who had mysteriously disappeared. Even those who hadn't been in the area, much less the city or school, had heard something about his disappearance two years ago. The only ones who weren't quite as surprised were Yami, Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu (they had seen him the day before), Bakura, and Ryou (they had just finished being told about what had happened) though they were still shocked. They hadn't expected to see Yugi in the school much less their own class.  
  
"Well then, we need to find you seats." Mr. Jiro looked around the room, and his eyes settled on the two rows of three desks each that was behind Yami, Jonouchi, and Honda. "Why don't you take the seats behind Mr. Mutou, Mr. Jonouchi, and Mr. Honda? It's in the back right corner, by the window." And the six 'new' students walked to their seats.  
  
They walked past Yami, Jonouchi, and Honda without a word. In fact the only one to even spare them a glance was Selene, and that itself was more of a glare. Jake sat right by the window in the seat right behind Honda, Derek sat right beside him and right behind Jonouchi, and Jason sat to the left of both of them and right behind Yami. Behind them were Yugi who was right behind Jake, Selene who was right behind Derek, and Damien who was right behind Jason.  
  
Homeroom went rather quickly after that and Selene, Damien, Yugi, Jason, Jake, and Damien made sure to get out of the classroom quickly so as to avoid an encounter with Yami and the gang just yet.  
  
As he didn't get a chance to talk to his hikari after homeroom he and the others agreed to confront him during lunch. As he entered the cafeteria he saw the six go outside to eat, but he also saw something that infuriated him. Selene was holding his hikari's hand. Yami was all ready and willing to go after them right then, but Jonouchi, who'd seen the same thing, held him back.  
  
"Let's wait a bit. At least until we find out where they're eating." He said, and Yami agreed.  
  
Yugi, Selene, and them, on the other hand, were having a great time. They had to keep from bursting out into fits of laughter at the faces of the "Fan Club", as they called themselves, whenever Selene and Yugi walked past hand-in-hand. It seems that the Fan Club was a group of females who went after the current heartthrob of the school, and it also seems that they have set their sights on Yugi. Though they were shocked to find out that he supposedly already had a girlfriend, and the new girl who wore the BOY'S uniform at that.  
  
But somehow they managed to hold out until they reached a rather secluded area of the courtyard. Then their laughter burst forth.  
  
"Oh gods, I can't believe their faces. If they get that jealous over a little hand holding, how are they going to react if we decide to take this further?" Selene managed to choke out between laughs. That just sent the others off again. A few minutes later, though, they managed to catch their breath, calm down, and finally speak normally.  
  
"I'd say our plan worked, and worked well at that." Jake said.  
  
They were all just about to get out their lunches when Selene stiffened and her eyes hardened to a level that none had ever been able to stare down. Jake and Damien, who were on either side of her glanced up and they too glared. Yugi, Jason, and Derek immediately knew who was behind them. After all, only one group of people who went to this school could warrant that reaction from not just one of them, but all three that could see them. It was obvious that behind them stood Yami, Ryou, Bakura, Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda.  
  
'Damn,' Yugi thought, 'looks like I won't get to eat my lunch after all.'  
  
Yugi eyes hardened as he turned to face his ex-friends and yami. "Well, well," he said as he slowly turned in his seat, his eyes hard and a smirk plastered on his face, "look who we have here. Looks like the gang decided to pay us a visit." Then his violet eyes yet again met scarlet and he said, "Hello again, Yami."  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: I know that seems similar to plenty of other fic.'s but I wanted them to be able to talk without drawing attention so I put them in the courtyard instead of in the actual cafeteria or in the class or halls.  
  
Please review and tell me what you think. I really, REALLY do appreciate all that you've done for me. 


	9. Lunchtime

Lunch Time  
  
AN: Hello all! Yet again, another chapter.  
  
Thank you to all those that reviewed! Those would be:  
  
Yugi Mutou (4 times)  
  
TheHikariWhoLovesBishis  
  
Ann Onymous  
  
Dark_Fox  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
There is a little more swearing in this chapter courtesy of Yugi, Selene, Jake, Damien, Jason, and Derek. They all have quite a store of curses in their heads.  
  
You all know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
'Damn,' Yugi thought, 'looks like I won't get to eat my lunch after all.'  
  
Yugi eyes hardened as he turned to face his ex-friends and yami. "Well, well," he said as he slowly turned in his seat, his eyes hard and a smirk plastered on his face, "look who we have here. Looks like the gang decided to pay us a visit." Then his violet eyes yet again met scarlet and he said, "Hello again, Yami."  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yami had held out going to see his hikari for as long as he could, which suffice to say was not very long at all. Maybe ten minutes at most. Finally he just got up and told the rest of the table where he was going, not bothering to see if they were coming or not, though he sensed that they were.  
  
Yami found the six of them sitting in a rather secluded area of the courtyard and they look like they had all just gotten over a huge laughing fit. Suddenly Selene stiffened and her eyes hardened, she was quickly followed by the two boys, the one with the red hair and the one with the ebony hair. This too was followed by the same reaction from those that had their backs to him and the others, and he knew that they knew exactly who was behind them.  
  
Yugi slowly turned in his seat and Yami say his eyes harden and a smirk appear on his face as he said, "Well, well, look who we have here. Looks like the gang decided to pay us a visit." Then his eyes met Yami's and he said, "Hello again, Yami."  
  
"Hello Yugi." Yami said. "I need to talk to you."  
  
Yugi's smirk widened, "Anything you need to say, you can say in front of my friends." Yugi said gesturing to Selene, Damien, Jake, Jason, and Derek. He guessed that that would probably sting his ex-friends, and by the looks on their faces he guessed right.  
  
"Yugi, we want to say that we're sorry for ignoring you two years ago." Jonouchi said, his eyes pleading.  
  
"It took you two damn years to say you're sorry and you expect me to forgive you just like that. No chance in hell." Yugi said, sneering. In truth he could see that the others did truly want to make it up to him, but he meant what he said. He wasn't going to forgive them so easily.  
  
"And," Selene suddenly said, "if you're sorry, then why the hell did I have to scream the facts into your damn faces three freakin' years ago?" As she said this her voice contained only anger.  
  
"Yugi please, come back to us." Anzu suddenly spoke up.  
  
"Shit you, who the hell says that I forgive that easily for anyone but my real friends." Yugi said. He could see tears gathering in her eyes, but after what they did to him, he couldn't honestly care less.  
  
"Back off Yugi, that was too harsh." Jonouchi said.  
  
Now this really pissed Yugi off. He stood up in anger. "You tell me to back off when you all did worse to me! Who the hell told you to back off then! No one! Not a damn one of you realized exactly what I was going through, how many times I cried myself to sleep!" he shouted. Yami, Honda, Jonouchi, Anzu, Ryou, and Bakura were shocked. They had never seen Yugi get angry, much less down right pissed. This was just testament to how much they'd hurt him.  
  
Selene, sensing that her friend was about to blow, stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. He seemed to calm slightly as he glanced back at her and he smiled slightly. And this just sent a wave of well- hidden jealousy coursing through Yami. Then Damien stood up to say his piece.  
  
"If all you're going to do is stand there and spout old news then I suggest you leave." He said coldly, his sapphire eyes flashing with hidden power and malice.  
  
Yami, ignoring him, turned his eyes once again to Yugi, "Hikari, please-" But he was interrupted by Yugi.  
  
"Just shut up. Only my friends can call me that. You lost that right long ago. You lost that right when you left me ALONE!" Yugi said. Despite the fact that he hated saying it out loud, he knew that it was true. Only his real friends called him that and no one in the group in front of him could be considered a real friend, not after what they did.  
  
Jonouchi looked like he was about to speak again but was cut off by Derek who stood up, shortly followed by Jason and Jake. "I suggest you all leave unless you want another lesson like yesterday's. I can guarantee you that any of us could easily do that to any of you. Just remember I did say you'd have to get past me to get to them and I know that you'll have to get past every last one of us to get to Yugi." Jake, Jason, Damien, and Selene nodded in agreement to what Derek had said.  
  
All of them, especially Yami, looked like leaving was the last thing that they wanted to do, but they also all knew about what had happened the day before and they could tell by the look in Derek's eyes that he wasn't lying. Yami sent his hikari one last regretful look as they turned around and left.  
  
When Yami and the others were out of sight they all sat down and sighed.  
  
"Well," Jake said quite sarcastically, "that was certainly fun. Anyone else want to do it again?"  
  
With those words the tensions surrounding them lifted a little and everyone let out a forced laugh.  
  
"You guys really didn't have to defend me like that." Yugi said.  
  
"Well, we meant what we said. We will do anything for you and they will have to get past every last one of us to get to you." Selene said, smiling.  
  
"Thanks, but what happens if Yami gets desperate and uses his shadow powers. You could all be killed." Yugi said worriedly, he really hated the thought of his friends hurt, much less dead.  
  
"So," Jake said.  
  
"We will do anything to defend you Hikari. Doesn't matter what. And," Jason said as he saw Yugi about to argue, "don't try and tell us otherwise. We know very well that you would do the exact same thing."  
  
That shut Yugi up and he smiled at his friends. "Thanks guys, that means a lot to me."  
  
"No sweat Hikari, no sweat." Derek said. Then the bell rang, ending a most interesting lunchtime.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what did you all think? I hope you're happy with the beat down Yugi gave Yami and the others, and trust me this isn't the end of it. There is a lot more to come. 


	10. Pleasant Reunions

Pleasant Reunions  
  
AN: Another chapter! Yeah!!  
  
Thank you to all those that reviewed! That would include:  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
Master Elora Dannan  
  
TheHikariWhoLovesBishis  
  
Chameleon  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
Dark_Fox  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
zeynel  
  
Yana5  
  
Sailor Centauri  
  
Yugi Motou  
  
Rutu  
  
yami  
  
Princess Strawberry  
  
I really don't mind those who can and do review more than once in a chapter. It actually makes me really happy 'cause it tells me that you really, really enjoy my fic.  
  
To the one who didn't like the beat-down I gave Yami and the gang, well all I can say is that it comes from the old saying "What goes around comes around." And, just so you know, I could've easily been quite a lot meaner. I'm sorry you feel that way, but while Yami is one of my top favorite characters I know I wouldn't forgive anyone right away if they did that to me and the other characters had to know that. They also had to know that he wasn't exactly the same kid he had been when he's left.  
  
And someone asked, I'm not sure if Seto and Mokuba Kiaba will make an appearance or not. Well, we'll find out how this thing works, won't we?  
  
Does anyone want a profile page for Jake, Jason, Derek, Selene, and Damien? If so, I'll be happy to do it. This'll basically tell you some facts about each of the said characters.  
  
And finally, I'm sorry that I didn't post this four days ago. I actually had it all ready and everything, but the stupid FF.Net wasn't loading on my computer so I couldn't post this.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"We will do anything to defend you Hikari. Doesn't matter what. And," Jason said as he saw Yugi about to argue, "don't try and tell us otherwise. We know very well that you would do the exact same thing."  
  
That shut Yugi up and he smiled at his friends. "Thanks guys, that means a lot to me."  
  
"No sweat Hikari, no sweat." Derek said. Then the bell rang, ending a most interesting lunchtime.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
The rest of the day passed without any kind of scene like that that had happened during lunch. In fact the only thing that annoyed Yugi and his friends would have to be the Fan Club. It seems that even though it looks like he already has a girlfriend the Club wasn't about to give up on Yugi.  
  
They were currently walking from school and Selene's and Yugi's eyes were twitching in annoyance at the band of twittering girls that were currently following them around. Jake and Jason were shaking in ill- concealed mirth while Derek, though it wasn't nearly as obvious, was amused he, like Damien, felt sorry for his two friends.  
  
Finally they decided to lose the caravan and walked over to an apartment building.  
  
"Sorry," Yugi shouted, "but this is my stop. You all will have to leave now." And went inside the strange building. Selene and the others waited until all the girls had gone before following him. Now, this wasn't their real apartment building, but there was no way they were going to lead them there.  
  
"Are they gone?" Yugi asked wearily from a bench that was just outside of the view of the doorway and the clerk's desk.  
  
"For now, but we had better sneak out the back way if we don't want to be spotted." Derek said. The rest of the gang nodded and they proceeded to do just that. Being a professional thief had its advantages at times outside the job. This was one of those times as they were able to get out of the back door of the building without anyone noticing them, and thus getting them in trouble.  
  
When they were outside they walked to the park where Jason spoke up. "So, what do you guys want to do know?"  
  
"Well," said Damien, glancing at Yugi, "what do you think about visiting the Kame Game shop?"  
  
Yugi thought for a moment before saying, "Yeah, let's do it. I doubt that Yami will be home for a while. He never was home until after supper when I lived there."  
  
"Okay then." Selene said, and with that they headed off.  
  
When they got to the store Selene stopped Yugi outside the door.  
  
"Wait just a second. Let me go in first just in case, okay?" She said. And Yugi, knowing that she meant just in case Yami was there, nodded.  
  
Selene entered the shop and, seeing that it was empty, nodded to her friends and they came in.  
  
"Just like I remember it." Yugi said, smiling slightly. "I really have missed this place."  
  
"Yugi?" came an elderly voice from the door to the actual house, which they currently had their backs to. "Yugi, is that really you?"  
  
Yugi turned around and smiled at his grandpa. "Yep Grandpa, it's me."  
  
Sugoroku ran up and hugged his grandson whom he hadn't seen in nearly two years. He had received word from Yugi himself shortly after he'd left, but seeing and writing to someone were two totally different things.  
  
"I've missed you Yugi. I wish I could've been there for you." He said as he gripped his grandson.  
  
"I've missed you too Grandpa." Yugi said, hugging his grandfather in return. When they pulled apart Yugi turned to his friends and said, "Grandpa, I'd like you to meet my new friends. They're the ones who helped me two years ago and also helped me send a letter to you without Yami or anyone else knowing."  
  
Yugi pointed to the shortest, though he was barely half an inch taller, and the only red head and said, "The red head with the blue-silver eyes is Jake." Jake just grinned his normal grin when he saw someone he liked. He, like everyone else, was able to get an impression off of someone's aura and he liked the one Yugi's grandfather had.  
  
"The one standing beside him with the light brown hair and one brown- green eye and one scarlet eye is Derek." Derek smiled slightly when Yugi introduced them and inclined his head slightly.  
  
"The there's the other maniac standing beside him, he's the one with blond hair and amber eyes. That one's name is Jason." Jason smiled and mock- saluted Sugoroku.  
  
"The one standing kind of out of the way with the back hair and sapphire eyes is Damien." Damien smiled and he too nodded his head slightly.  
  
"And finally, the only girl of the group. She has the tan hair and emerald eyes. And she is my best friend. You might recognize her Grandpa. Her name's Selene." Yugi said and Selene waved, smiling.  
  
Sugoroku stared at her in confusion for a bit before his eyes widened. "Oh my god." Was all he said.  
  
"Well Yugi, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet to say that he recognized me." Selene said.  
  
"You're Selene from Siaka city, aren't you?" Sugoroku said. When Selene nodded he continued, "I never got to thank you enough back then. You can't know how much it meant to me to finally find my grandson back then. And now you helped him again. How could I ever thank you enough?" At this Selene blushed and mumbled something about it being nothing.  
  
This, of course, granted some teasing from Jake. "Oooh lookie, Selene's blushing." And he grinned. Selene, naturally, forced the color out of her face and slung her book bag at his head, and it was Jake's misfortune that he didn't duck in time and was sent sprawling onto the floor. The others decided to keep quite after that display.  
  
"Well," Sugoroku said, "how long are you staying in town?"  
  
"We're not really sure," Damien said, "it all depends."  
  
Yugi's grandpa nodded then his face turned serious. "Do Yami and the others know you're here?"  
  
"Yup," Jake said, "we had a rather, well for lack of better term, 'interesting' encounter with them yesterday at the arcade and today during lunch. I really don't think they're happy with and of us at the moment." As he said the last part he gestured to himself, Selene, Jason, Damien, and Derek.  
  
"Uh, guys," Derek said, "I think we need to leave soon. We really need to go by the stores and get some food unless we all want to go hungry tonight and tomorrow morning." The others nodded in agreement.  
  
"We'll come back again soon Grandpa." Yugi said and, with a final hug, followed his friends out of the store.  
  
AN: So, what did you think? I thought that having at least one pleasant reunion in Domino was a good idea. After all, Yugi's grandpa, in my fiction, didn't have anything to do with Yugi's leaving so Yugi's not mad at him. 


	11. CL vs Selene

C.L. vs. Selene  
  
AN: If I finish this and post it with the 10th chapter then it was because I got tired of FF.Net not loading and decided to just continue.  
  
This chapter contains more of the charade romance. Hope you like it.  
  
I'm sorry if anyone feels offended by the girls in this chapter, and I do know all girls aren't like this. I am one after all. I just had them act this way for the sake of a little humor.  
  
You all know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"Uh, guys," Derek said, "I think we need to leave soon. We really need to go by the stores and get some food unless we all want to go hungry tonight and tomorrow morning." The others nodded in agreement.  
  
"We'll come back again soon Grandpa." Yugi said and, with a final hug, followed his friends out of the store.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
It was nearly a week since Yugi and everyone had moved to Domino. Thankfully the next few days weren't quite as eventful as the first. And, true to their promise, they visited Yugi's grandpa every other day. And Yami and the gang were still trying to get close to Yugi, though it wasn't as obvious as it had been the first day.  
  
The Fan Club also hadn't given up. Quite the contrary, they'd become more persistent and much more annoying. Selene had actually taken to calling the Club Leader, or C.L. as Yugi and his other friends called her, the "High Bitch" or just plain "Bitch." She actually calls the others in the clubs the "Bitch cadets." It was rather obvious that Selene didn't like them one bit. One day when Yugi, Selene, Derek, Jason, Damien, and Jake were actually eating inside, the Club came over.  
  
"Oh look," Selene said sarcastically, having been the first to see the Club approaching, "it's the Bitch cadets and the High Bitch herself. Aren't we honored." The sarcasm was practically tangible in her last sentence. Yugi and the other stifled snickers, much as they didn't call the Club that they certainly felt that way.  
  
"You should feel honored. After all, we're what you'll never be tomboy." The C.L. said.  
  
"What, prissy and stuck up? I think I'll if it's pass all the same to you." Selene said, a smirk working it's way onto her face. Jake was practically shaking with the effort of not laughing at the look on the other girls' faces.  
  
"Why you, you," the C.L. said, it was obvious that no one had ever talked to her like that.  
  
"What's the problem? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe the words I used were to complicated for your tiny intellect to comprehend." Selene said, a full-blown smirk now on her face. She was clearly enjoying the task of pissing of the C.L. way too much. Some might actually call her sadistic.  
  
"Just wait till I get my hand on you, you bitch." C.L. said, her face contorted in rage.  
  
"I hardly think that'll do anything." Selene said.  
  
"Just wait you whore!" C.L. shouted.  
  
Now this wouldn't affect most people too much, but given her past this got Selene down right fully and completely pissed. She'd never had very much of a temper when it came to these girls, but that comment had passed the line. And the guys, recognizing the warning signs that said she was about to blow, scooted a few inches away. They knew that they wouldn't get hurt, but that also didn't mean they wanted to be right up close when she did blow.  
  
"Take that back Bitch." Selene ground out through gritted teeth. The Club all looked nervous, but the C.L. decided to take her chances.  
  
"What, did I touch a nerve? Seems like you really are a whore then." she said trying to sound cool, but the quiver in her voice gave her away. Seeing Selene completely pissed off was not a sight many saw and lived to tell about.  
  
The guys winced. It would've been a lot less messy if the C.L. had just backed down.  
  
Selene picked up her open container of pudding and, without any warning what so ever, smeared the whole thing right down the C.L.'s shirt. The other girl screeched and began to, futilely, try and wipe her shirt off.  
  
"Fine then," Selene said, very calmly. Jake, Jason, and Derek had already burst out into laughter and Damien and Yugi's shoulder were shaking and tears were streaming from their eyes from the effort of not laughing out loud. They were both starting to lose the battle. "If you think you're so tough, then prove it. Today during gym next period we're doing grappling. Face me and let's see who's the better woman, Bitch." And with that Selene sat down.  
  
"Fine then, we'll see." The C.L. said, and with that the whole Club walked off.  
  
As soon as they were out of sight, Damien and Yugi gave up on the battle to keep their laughter at bay. The boys were howling for five minutes before they finally managed to calm down and not burst out into laughter every time they looked at Selene.  
  
"Are you all quite finished then?" Selene asked, still ticked.  
  
"Uh, yes." Yugi said. When Selene was in one of her moods it was just plain safer to nod and say yes, safer to your health that is.  
  
"Good." She said, and then the bell rang. She stormed ahead of the rest of her group.  
  
"Well," Jake said, "at least we know this period won't be boring."  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was nearing the end of the gym period, well to be specific they had about fifteen minutes left, when Selene walked up to the teacher and the rest of her group fell silent.  
  
"Mrs. Jonaki," Selene said in a very innocent voice, "would it be okay if Chelsea and I have a turn at this?" she had used the actual name of the C.L. because she very much doubted that it would increase her chances if she called her the "High Bitch."  
  
"Well," Mrs. Jonaki said, "if she says she wants to too then I guess you two can." Chelsea nodded and they both went onto the mat.  
  
"You're going down tomboy." Chelsea said, it was rather obvious that she either didn't know or didn't believe the rumors about how strong Selene was. These mainly came from when she had punched out one of the school's biggest bullies when she'd found him picking on a smaller freshman. One hit to the face and he was out like a light.  
  
"I very much doubt that you brat." Selene said, a predatory smirk on her face. The other guys in her group knew that almost certain death awaited the person on the receiving end of that smirk. It seemed that Chelsea would be extremely lucky to escape with her life much less relatively unscathed.  
  
Chelsea growled.  
  
"Okay girls," Mrs. Jonaki said, "remember the rules. No biting, scratching, or punching. You may begin."  
  
Chelsea lunged at Selene, but she easily stepped out of the way causing the other girl to almost fall out of the 7x7 square ring. Chelsea turned around a lunged again, at her back this time, and Selene yet again easily stepped out of the way. This went on for a couple of minutes before Selene, instead of stepping out of the way, ducked under the other girl's hands and came up right between them. She grabbed the other's shirt and casually sat down and, planting her foot into the other girl's stomach, tossed Chelsea over her. And the game ended with Chelsea falling out of, or more the like being tossed out of, the ring. Also severely bruising her pride as well as her rear end.  
  
But Selene didn't come out unscathed either. Since she wasn't going all out she had gotten scratched slightly by the other's long fingernails when she'd ducked. She wiped her hand across the single scratch on her cheek.  
  
"Are you okay, Selene?" Yugi asked, coming up to her. He was not only worried about her, but her also knew that it was the perfect time to put their plan into action. After all, they had the head of the Club herself in here and glaring at them. When would they have a better opportunity?  
  
Selene, obviously getting the gist, pretended to wipe away a tear as she said, "I think so, but the C.L. scratched me with her dagger fingernails."  
  
Mentally Yugi smirked. While anyone that actually fully knew her wouldn't be fooled, she had perfect acting and seemed completely sincere in her reactions to those who didn't.  
  
He leaned forward and, all the while blessing his growth spurt a year back, kissed her on the cheek first before kissing her firmly on the lips. He had a hard time holding back his laughter as he felt her kiss back. She really was a perfect actor.  
  
When they pulled apart it was to the sounds of several bodies hitting the floor. All of the other girls, eleven in all, had been in the Fan Club and had fainted at the sight of the two kissing while the boys, six not including the others in their gang who knew what was going on, looked shocked.  
  
It seemed that the rumor mill would be on an extra high tomorrow.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what did you think? I know that this and the last chapter didn't have very much if any of the Yami and gang, but I really needed to build up the story before getting back to them.  
  
Please review, it really does help. Thanks! 


	12. Tensions Rising

Tensions Rising  
  
AN: Another chapter to be finished before I can post it.  
  
If this comes out with chapters ten and eleven then it's because FF.Net is still being a bitch and won't load. And I'm on serious fanfic deprivation at this time.  
  
Just so you know Yugi and co. entered Domino High on Monday and the last chapter happened on Thursday. I know it seems like a lot to happen in a normal week, but no one said that this group was normal.  
  
Finally, Selene is tired later and curses a lot so please just ignore her potty mouth. Just remember that she'd only gotten about two hours sleep the previous night when she is cursing. And the fact that she's seen someone she really doesn't like right then doesn't help either.  
  
You all know the rest...  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
He leaned forward and, all the while blessing his growth spurt a year back, kissed her on the cheek first before kissing her firmly on the lips. He had a hard time holding back his laughter as he felt her kiss back. She really was a perfect actor.  
  
When they pulled apart it was to the sounds of several bodies hitting the floor. All of the other girls, eleven in all, had been in the Fan Club and had fainted at the sight of the two kissing while the boys, six not including the others in their gang who knew what was going on, looked shocked.  
  
It seemed that the rumor mill would be on an extra high tomorrow.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
It was a normal Friday morning. Yugi, Selene, Jake, Damien, Jason, and Derek were huddled around their desks, not letting anyone else in their conversation. Though from the looks on their faces they were very amused about something.  
  
Yami, Jonouchi, Honda, Ryou, and Bakura were currently sitting in their little group as well. They weren't really talking about anything in particular until Anzu came in with some startling news.  
  
"You guys," Anzu said as soon as she reached the group, "you'll never believe what I just heard."  
  
"What is it?" Jonouchi asked, obviously curious.  
  
"Well, you all know how the Fan Club seems to have picked Yugi as their current target right?" she said and continued when everyone nodded. "Remember yesterday during lunch when the leader of the Club and Selene got into a big row? It seems that they really did face off in their next period since it was gym. During their match, Selene completely flattened her. Selene actually threw Chelsea over her. But that wasn't the strangest part. It seems that the Club leader managed to scratch her and afterward Yugi came up and they kissed."  
  
"What?!?!" was the general reaction that Anzu's story got out of the group.  
  
"Yeah, though there isn't very much known about after that because it seems the other girls, all members of the Club, fainted when they saw that." Anzu concluded.  
  
Yami was practically growling at this point. It seems that he was extremely jealous of Selene. 'I have to talk to Yugi. But not when anyone else is around. I guess that means I'll have to find out where they live.'  
  
After the rather eventful homeroom, the day passed relatively calmly. After school Jonouchi and the others said they were going to the arcade, but Yami said he had something else to do.  
  
He quickly spotted the group that was around Yugi and when he got close enough he heard them talking.  
  
"You guys go ahead and go home. I need to stop off at the store. I'll be home a few minutes after you all, so don't worry." Selene said.  
  
"Are you sure?" Damien asked, shooting her a strange look. He knew that Yami could hear them, but it was usually better not to question exactly what she was doing. And she did seem to know what she was doing. When she nodded the rest of the guys took off toward their home.  
  
Yami decided to follow Selene as it seemed that there would be less of a chance of being spotted if he did. Selene headed to the grocery store neat by and came back out with a couple bags after a few minutes. Yami followed her all the way to an apartment building, about ten to fifteen minutes from the school. He watched her take the elevator up to the seventh floor and then went over to the empty clerk's desk. He opened the records of renters to the pages for the seventh floor. He quickly found what he was looking for when he saw the only one with six people, room 782. He would be paying a visit to them the next day.  
  
Selene, in the meantime, had reached the apartment, opened the door, and gone it. After which she was promptly bombarded by questions from Damien and Yugi. It seems that the others were rather too busy making out at the moment to really wonder what was going on.  
  
"Okay, I know you hadn't planned on going to any store until just a few minutes ago. And I know you knew that Yami was within hearing distance. What are you up to?" Damien asked.  
  
Selene just smiled her secretive smile that always meant that they weren't going to get any more out of her. "You'll see. Trust me, you'll understand soon enough."  
  
~*~*~  
  
The next morning woke to a loud rapping on the door. She cursed. It was too damn early to get up. They'd had a long night of staking out the museum last night and she had gone to bed exhausted, not even bothering to change out of her day clothes. When she finally looked at the clock she saw that, to her shock, it was already noon. Then she remembered that Damien, Jake, and Jason had gone out for a while earlier since they'd been the first on patrol, she and Yugi had been the last two and the patrol had lasted from midnight until eight. And she hadn't been able to get anymore sleep before hand because she'd had too much on her mind.  
  
"Shit," she muttered as she heard the rapping on the door again. It was obvious that the person at the door wasn't about to give up.  
  
As she walked past the door she saw a drowsy-eyed Yugi open the door and ask, "Neko, do you want me to get it?"  
  
"I'll get it, you just get back to bed Hikari." Selene said. Neither had changed out of their clothes from the day before.  
  
Yugi shrugged and closed his door to try and get back to sleep.  
  
When Selene opened the door she was met with, in her opinion, and very unpleasant, if not totally unexpected, sight for when she just woke up. It seems that Yami had paid them a visit.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yami had left the house for the apartment that he knew the group with Yugi and Yugi himself was staying at around 11:30. He planned to talk to his hikari, and hopefully without anyone else around. When he got there he spent about five minutes knocking on the door before he heard the sounds of someone stumbling around come from inside the apartment. Then he heard his hikari's voice, though he couldn't make out what it was saying, followed by Selene's.  
  
When Selene opened the door he saw that her hair was slightly tousled and her clothes were slightly wrinkled. Combine those with the voices he'd heard earlier and he made an assumption that he really didn't like. The fact that Selene looked as though she hadn't gotten very much sleep before now didn't help at all.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"What the fuck do you want?" Selene asked rather hostilely. It was rather obvious that she didn't like to be woken up two hours after she'd finally been able to fall asleep after everything only to be met with the sight of the one person she really didn't want to see.  
  
"I want to talk to Yugi." Yami said rather calmly. On the inside he was burning with anger at the assumption he'd made when he saw her.  
  
"Hell no." Selene snarled. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now.  
  
"Why not?" Yami asked suspiciously, he knew that Yugi was there 'cause he'd recognized his voice.  
  
"He's busy, now shove off." Selene said.  
  
"I have to talk to him." Yami said.  
  
"Let me tell you something Yami." Selene said, glaring viciously, "Yugi is the best person I've ever known and I'll never let you hurt him again. He may have forgiven you but I sure as hell haven't." she almost laughed at the look of surprise on Yami's face. "Yeah, he's forgiven, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten or that the rest of us have done either. He's one of the few people I really care about and I'll be damned if I let you hurt him again."  
  
"At least tell me something," Yami said and Selene raised an eyebrow, indicating for him to continue. "Are you and Yugi in love?" Yami had to know this.  
  
Her face and voice were completely deadpan as she said, "No, it's all an act to keep the fans away." And Yami couldn't honestly tell if she was being sarcastic or not.  
  
"Now if that's all, have a good day," Selene said, and then couldn't help one more sarcastic remark. As she closed the door she added, "Pharaoh."  
  
Yami stared at the door in shock for a few seconds before regaining his senses and walked out of the building. All the while he was thinking about what she'd just said. 'She knows about Yugi's and my past.' And he was still amazed at the amount of loyalty she had toward him.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please review.  
  
And for those of you wondering why Selene said that to Yami it was because she wanted him to know that she did know about his powers and she still wasn't afraid of him. She really would protect Yugi no matter what. She is a truly devoted friend.  
  
Finally don't worry to all those who want a happy ending between Yami and Yugi. You will get it; I just want quite a bit to happen in between time. 


	13. Rivals

Rivals  
  
AN: Another chapter and FF.Net is still being a bitch, though I have started to post this on MM.Org as well, so I'm not as P.O.'d anymore.  
  
Does anyone want a profile page for my original characters?  
  
Thank you to the reviewer I got on MM.Org, chibi_hikari, I really, really appreciate your review.  
  
You all know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"Now if that's all, have a good day," Selene said, and then couldn't help one more sarcastic remark. As she closed the door she added, "Pharaoh."  
  
Yami stared at the door in shock for a few seconds before regaining his senses and walked out of the building. All the while he was thinking about what she'd just said. 'She knows about Yugi's and my past.' And he was still amazed at the amount of loyalty she had toward him.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
It has been about a month since Yugi and everyone first moved back to Domino city. Every weekend they would stake out the museum to make sure that their schedule stayed consistent. Finally they were ready.  
  
Selene, decked out all in black, turned to her friends. "Are you guys ready?" she asked.  
  
Yugi, Jake, Damien, Jason, and Derek nodded, each of them was also decked out all in black and each of them had their weapons strapped to them. They also each had a walkie-talkie strapped to their belts. These were the latest models, invented by Jason himself, and he made sure that no one could hear what they were saying over the radio waves.  
  
"All ready to go." Yugi said after double-checking his weapons and walkie-talkie. The others did the same and they headed out.  
  
The plan was simple. Jason, Derek, and Damien would sneak into the security room and, after knocking out any obstacles, were to shut off security until they were ready. Then they were to call Yugi, Selene, and Jake on the walkie-talkies to inform them that it was off. The three of them would break into the museum and, after knocking out any of the watchmen, take back the illegally or unfairly acquired item. Then, after getting out of range of any cameras, they were to call up Damien, Jason, and Derek so they could start up the security on a timer with enough time for them to get out. They were not to kill anyone period. That was an unspoken rule inside the team. Knock out, do not kill anyone.  
  
Everything was going smoothly during the first part. Derek, Jason, and Damien made it in easily and just as easily knocked out any obstacles and shut down the security system.  
  
Selene, Yugi, and Jason made it in and past the guards easily, but then the unexpected factor came in. When they reached the jewel they were to steal back they found the case empty and containing a note. The note read 'Hello Venators. You're getting rusty if we could slip be you without your noticing. We now have the Starlight Gem. You know the rules of the game. You have to find us and get it back. ~Lotronis'  
  
Selene had to cover her mouth to stop herself from cursing aloud as she read the note. She stuck it in her pack and gestured to her two companions to move out. Though confused, both Yugi and Jason headed out.  
  
As soon as they were outside camera range Selene contacted the others.  
  
"~Guys, we are out of the building. Repeat we are out of the building.~" Selene said softly into the walkie-talkie.  
  
"~Great,~" came Jason's voice, "~was the mission a success?~"  
  
"~Not exactly. More at the apartment. Move out.~" Selene said in a voice that brooked no comments.  
  
"~Okay, meet you there in a few.~" came Jason's voice again.  
  
They headed over to their apartment where Jake, Yugi, and Selene promptly collapsed onto the chairs in the living room.  
  
"What was the note about Neko?" Jake asked, knowing he probably wouldn't get an answer until everyone was there. And he was proven correct when Selene just shook her head.  
  
A couple of minutes later the rest of the group walked in and they too sat down.  
  
"Okay, Neko, explain." Jason said. "What do you mean that the mission wasn't a success. How could we have bumbled up such a simple task."  
  
"Simple," Selene said as she handed them the note, "read this." Each of them took turns reading it. Jason, Derek, and Jake ended up cursing aloud while Damien and Yugi were just doing so in their respective minds.  
  
"Exactly," Selene said, "it looks like the Lotronis followed us all the way to Domino. They obviously want to take some of the property of that museum. We have to be on the look out for them."  
  
"Oh sure," Jake said very sarcastically, "it'll be easy to find the Lotronis in a whole city full of people. Damn. I just hate it how they seemed to have picked us to pick on. They always steal the thing we're after and then we have to get it back and keep them from stealing anything else." And the last part was completely serious.  
  
Yugi and the others nodded in agreement. As much as Yugi had only been in the group for two years, he'd still had his fair share of experiences with the Lotronis. And none of said encounters had been pleasant.  
  
"Well," Damien said suddenly grinning, "looks like we have ourselves another challenge on our hands folks. Let's meet and surpass it like we did with every other of their stupid challenges. After all, aren't we the Venators for a reason. We will, yet again, hunt them down."  
  
The others grinned, though Damien was usually quite, he did get rather silly at times. And they also all welcomed a good challenge, especially Selene and Yugi. Also known as, in several cities they'd been to, the Game Goddess and the King of Games. Looks like they were going to have some fun.  
  
Slowly each of them went to bed so they might be able to stay awake during school the next day. Hey, it was always worth a shot, wasn't it? Though it usually didn't work.  
  
They had also had to call their boss, and he was none too happy either, but hey, what could he do? Nothing except threaten them, in joke only mind you, with bodily harm if they don't get the gem back soon.  
  
The next morning there was a news report on their break in and the missing gem. Evidently, of course, the guards were none to happy about being had as one of them kept screaming something along the lines of "their just kids" and "it just isn't normal." The fact that they managed to shut down the cameras so they had no idea who these kids were didn't help matters at all. In fact it just made the preciously mentioned officer to scream said sentences louder. They all had a good laugh over that before heading out to another day of school. Looks like they'd be staying in Domino for a while.  
  
TBC.  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please review and tell me.  
  
And again, does anyone want a profile page for my original characters Selene, Damien, Jake, Jason, and Derek? If so, just tell me in the review. Thanks, bye! 


	14. Encounters

Encounters  
  
AN: Yeah!! FF.Net is back up and I finally got to post there. I'm so happy!  
  
Thank you to all those that reviewed! Those would be the following:  
  
Leila-14-Rose  
  
chibi-hikari  
  
drawkcaB  
  
Dark_Fox  
  
Yana5  
  
Rutu  
  
SoulDreamer  
  
Yugi Motou  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
I'm so happy!  
  
I'll post a profile page ASAP.  
  
You'll find out all about Yugi and Selene's past soon enough. And you'll find out how Selene helped to get Yugi away from his father. So don't worry, but I need some things to happen and she's going to tell everyone. You'll see soon enough.  
  
Yes, I did get the pudding idea from "Princess Diaries." I actually hadn't planned on that, but the idea came into my head as I was writing and it fit so. Actually, that happens a lot. I hadn't planned on some of these things until I had actually written it and it fits so I leave it there.  
  
Finally, someone asked for a little demo of Yugi's new skills and you're going to get it in this chapter.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning there was a news report on their break in and the missing gem. Evidently, of course, the guards were none to happy about being had as one of them kept screaming something along the lines of "their just kids" and "it just isn't normal." The fact that they managed to shut down the cameras so they had no idea who these kids were didn't help matters at all. In fact it just made the preciously mentioned officer to scream said sentences louder. They all had a good laugh over that before heading out to another day of school. Looks like they'd be staying in Domino for a while.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
It was Monday during homeroom and the group of six was currently huddled in their normal morning routine.  
  
"We need to get out and see if we can gather any information today." Selene said, referring to the discovery of their rival team last night. "I know we probably won't find much, if any at all, but we need to check."  
  
"I agree with Selene," Damien said and Yugi nodded in agreement. "We may not find anything at all, but if we do a little is better than nothing."  
  
The others in the group nodded. It was agreed, they would start the search as soon as school let out.  
  
"We'll all split up and report back the apartment be six, what do you say?" Selene said. Again they each nodded in agreement.  
  
School passed relatively quickly that day and soon they were standing outside the school building, preparing to go their separate ways. Yugi was to head off in the direction of the park and the game shop. Selene and Damien would tackle the worse part of town. Jason, Derek, and Jake would split the rest of the area between them. You'd be surprised how fast they could search any area if they wanted to. Yugi was also given a smaller area so he might have time to stop by and say hello to his grandpa.  
  
When Yugi was in a less occupied part of the park, a well-known if not well-used shortcut, he heard some footsteps behind him. Hoping for some kind of lead he made sure to show no falter in his step and casually headed into a clearing he knew to be up ahead. When he turned around he was met, not with at least one member of his rival gang as he had hoped, but a few of his old bullies.  
  
"Well, well Yugi, long time no see and now you don't have your new friends to hide behind. So, what're you going to do?" said the biggest of the group of five, puffing himself up in hopes to seem more intimidating. To Yugi he just resembled a puffer fish. He had to work hard to keep his straight face at this thought.  
  
"If you don't leave now, I'm going to make sure that you regret ever approaching me." Yugi said, a vicious smirk making it's way onto his face.  
  
The bullies looked flabbergasted for a moment before each of them growled. Evidently the new side of Yugi had shocked and then pissed them off. They suddenly came at him and Yugi, having been ready for an attack long before, reacted. The intensive training with his team definitely came in handy now. He was so immersed in keeping the bullies away from him and incapacitating them at the same time that he didn't notice another familiar shadow behind the trees.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yami watched Selene, Damien, Yugi, Jake, Jason, and Derek split up. Making a split second decision he followed Yugi as he headed into the park. He made sure to keep well back and walk as silently as possible. Shortly before Yugi stepped off the trail he was on he saw a group of bullies that had made their way in between him and his hikari.  
  
Suddenly afraid for his hikari's safety he sped up. As he approached he could hear the leader of the bullies he'd seen speak.  
  
"Well, well Yugi, long time no see and now you don't have your new friends to hide behind. So, what're you going to do?" was what the voice said. Yami was all prepared to go in there and Mind Crush said bullies when the voice of his hikari stopped him.  
  
"If you don't leave now, I'm going to make sure that you regret ever approaching me." It was different than before, more confident and slightly mocking. He'd never heard that tone of voice. Then again, until recently there was a lot about his hikari he'd never seen before.  
  
He heard the bullies growl after a moment and looked through the trees just as they attacked.  
  
Yugi, evidently having prepared for the attack, dropped back and kneed the first bully in the groin extremely hard, effectively putting him out of action for this fight and used him as a temporary shield while he got out of range of the others. As one came at him with a round house punch Yugi stepped inside and, grabbing his arm, kicked his leg out from under him, causing the other bully to fall and knock the breath out of him. He took one second to hit a pressure point on the bully's neck the knocked him out before backing away from the attack of another. The other three, now more cautious, back away and circled around him. Then all at once they came at him. Yugi, seeing that the only way out was up, quickly jumped and grabbed onto the nearest tree limb, hoisting himself onto said limb. The three slightly below him rammed heads and Yugi, deciding to take advantage of the situation, jumped onto one of their heads and knocked him out cold. One of the two remaining bullies came up behind him and tried to get him into a bear hug from behind. Yugi stopped the hands and grabbed a couple of fingers in each hand and, using them to move him, effectively moved the other into the line of fire from his partner. One of the hits, fired before the firer could realize what he was doing, hit the other guy square in the center of the face hard enough to where it knocked him out. The last guy backed up slightly in fear, this was definitely not the little defenseless kid they used to beat up. He pulled out a switchblade and flicked it open. Yugi, spotting the blade, prepared for the thrust he could see coming from the stance the other guy took. When the other guy came at him he stepped to the outside of the attack and quickly slammed the guy's hand into the nearest tree. The guy howled as his wrist broke but was quickly silenced as Yugi took the opportunity to slam his palm into the bottom of the guy's chin, knocking him out and ending the fight. He picked up the switchblade and closed it before pocketing it. He also checked the other guys for weapons just in case, you could never be too careful. He found that each of them had had one switchblade on them. He took those too and stuck them into his abandoned book bag.  
  
As he straightened he heard some leaves rustle to his left. He turned his body slightly in that direction and called out, "I know you're there, who ever you are. You can stop hiding now." And, much to his surprise, stepped out Yami.  
  
Yami, for his part, had been shocked as he watched his counterpart take out all five of the bullies without so much as breaking a sweat. One of them had even taken a knife out on him and all five had had to weigh twice as much as he did easily and were at least a good five to six inches taller. It was just plain amazing.  
  
"Yami," Yugi said in shock. He really hadn't been expecting this. He had expected, at the very least, a very freaked out no one. He had actually thought that Yami would be out with his friends. Looks like he had followed his hikari after all.  
  
"Yugi, what happened just now? You took out five guys like it was nothing." Yami said.  
  
Yugi sighed, "Let's go to the Kame shop and I'll explain a little there."  
  
And together the hikari and yami walked off to one's old home and the other's current home.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please read and review.  
  
I also hoped you liked the demo of Yugi's new skills. I know I enjoyed writing the bullies getting their come-uppance. 


	15. OC Descriptions

OC Descriptions  
  
Selene  
  
Name: Selene Chousen  
  
Age: 16-18  
  
Height: 5'8"  
  
Weight: 150 lbs.  
  
Fav. Sub.: Gym  
  
Least Fav. Sub.: None  
  
Fav. Food: Chocolate  
  
Least Fav. Food: Coffee  
  
Fav. Colors: Midnight Blue, Black, and Silver  
  
Least Fav. Color: Pink  
  
Hobbies: Reading and Training  
  
Weapons: Sias  
Double Sword  
Shuriken  
  
Hair Color: Tan  
  
Eye Color: Emerald Green  
  
Skin Color: Slightly Tanned  
  
Likes: Challenges of any kind; her few friends  
  
Dislikes: Snobs, preps, and anyone like that; those that hurt those she loves  
  
Selene had a hard life while she was growing up. Her mother died during childbirth and her father beat her and accused her of killing her mother. She ran away at the age of nine and was taken in by a member of the group the Venators belong to. She doesn't trust most people and there are only a select few that she'll trust no matter what. She has a soft spot for innocence as she never really got to be a child. She'll protect those she cares for and any innocence she can at any cost, even at the cost of her own life. She is, to say the least, extremely loyal and protective.  
  
Damien  
  
Name: Damien Kushin  
  
Age: 16-18  
  
Height: 6'1"  
  
Weight: 165 lbs.  
  
Fav. Sub.: History  
  
Least Fav. Sub.: None  
  
Fav. Food: Ice Cream  
  
Least Fav. Food: Red beans  
  
Fav. Color: Black  
  
Least Fav. Color: Pink  
  
Hobbies: Writing and Training  
  
Weapons: Katana (Japanese sword)  
Ball and chain  
Sias  
  
Hair Color: Ebony Black  
  
Eye Color: Sapphire Blue  
  
Skin Color: Tanned  
  
Likes: Going after his current goal, friends, Selene  
  
Dislikes: Anyone who thinks, without reason, that their better than everyone else  
  
Damien is probably the quietest of the group, though he does enjoy teasing his friends when the occasion arises. He fell in love with Selene and, thanks to Yugi and his other friends, finally got a chance to tell her, only to find out that she felt the same way. This happened when they were about 17. He, too, is very loyal and refuses to break the trust of a friend. This is probably because the reason he ran away was similar to Yugi's with one main difference, they checked but no one seemed to want him back. Don't ask what happened to those people as Selene was the one to deal with them and when she's pissed the person she's pissed at better pray they escape with their lives. To say the least, it was rather messy.  
  
Jake  
  
Name: Jake Meitou  
  
Age: 16-18  
  
Height: 5'7"  
  
Weight: 148 lbs.  
  
Fav. Sub.: Chemistry  
  
Least Fav. Sub.: History  
  
Fav. Food: Any sweet  
  
Least Fav. Food: Wasabi (very spicy Japanese food)  
  
Fav. Color: Bright red  
  
Least Fav. Color: Pink  
  
Hobbies: Pranks and Training  
  
Weapons: Daggers  
Katana  
Shuriken  
  
Hair Color: Red  
  
Eye Color: Light Bluish Silver  
  
Skin Color: Tanned  
  
Likes: Pranks, friends  
  
Dislikes: Preps  
  
Jake is basically the prankster of the group. He'll go to any lengths to try to get a smile out of someone, even at the cost of good-natured bodily harm, case in point Selene. He acts slightly insane sometimes and, when aroused, has almost as bad a temper as Selene. Though usually he manages to keep his temper in check. He, like the others, is extremely loyal to any he considers a friend. He became part of the Venators after having been abandoned by his relatives when his parents died. They didn't want him because they believed he would cost too much. He is also the lover of Jason and Derek.  
  
Jason  
  
Name: Jason Chisei  
  
Age: 16-18  
  
Height: 5'10"  
  
Weight: 158 lbs.  
  
Fav. Sub.: Technology  
  
Least Fav. Sub.: Foreign Language  
  
Fav. Food: Any form of Caffeine  
  
Least Fav. Food: Spicy foods  
  
Fav. Color: Blue and White  
  
Least Fav. Color: Pink  
  
Hobbies: Inventing and Training  
  
Weapons: Ball and Chain  
Sias  
Poisoned Darts  
  
Hair Color: Blonde  
  
Eye Color: Amber  
  
Skin Color: Slightly tanned  
  
Likes: Friends, trying out new inventions  
  
Dislikes: When people steal his ideas  
  
Jason is basically the inventor. He loves to tinker around with almost anything to see how it works and also making new things out of busted things or just a few spare parts. He is fascinated by how things work. He, too, is extremely loyal to those he considers friends, though he doesn't have as bad a temper as Jake or Selene. He usually can take a more rational approach. Note the operative word usually. Jason actually grew up in an orphanage because his parents died when he was five. He ran away from his adoptive home at the age of eleven, one year after having been adopted, because his once nice family had become bankrupt and now proceeded to use what little money they had on drinks and, in their drunken state, usually beat him as he was the only outlet for their frustration that was around. He is also the lover of Jake and Derek.  
  
Derek  
  
Name: Derek Bushi  
  
Age: 16-18  
  
Height: 5'8"  
  
Weight: 150 lbs.  
  
Fav. Sub.: Gym  
  
Least Fav. Sub.; Science  
  
Fav. Food: Cake  
  
Least Fav. Food: Ginger  
  
Fav. Color: Black and Dark scarlet  
  
Least Fav. Color: Pink  
  
Hobbies: Music and Training  
  
Weapons: Poisoned Darts  
Daggers  
  
Katana  
  
Hair Color: Light Brown  
  
Eye Color: One Brown-green and one Dark scarlet  
  
Skin Color: Bronze Tan  
  
Like: Guitar, friends  
  
Dislikes: Slackers, preps  
  
Aside from Selene Derek is probably the most athletic of the group. Though despite this, he also has an affinity for music, particularly the guitar. He actually writes and plays his own music. He, just like all the others, is viciously protective of his friends. He'll go to any extent to protect them. He joined the Venators after his older brother was killed when he was eleven. He had been living with his eighteen year old brother for two years, since his parents died, and his brother had actually belonged to a small band. But he was killed by a drunken driver on the way home from practice one day. Derek ran away he refused to go to an orphanage or foster home because of horror stories he'd always been told from those who lived there. He is the lover of Jason and Jake. 


	16. Some of the Truth

Some of the Truth  
  
AN: Another chapter already, yeah!  
  
Sorry for the misunderstanding folks, but the fic. ISN'T finished with this chapter. And Yami and Yugi don't get together until one of the last two. Trust me, I need something to happen so you can get all of Selene and Yugi's history. And more truths revealed too. Don't worry, I still have a few more chapters coming up.  
  
Thank you to all those that reviewed. That would be the following:  
  
Saiyan_Kitsune_Foxfire  
  
Yana5  
  
chibi_hikari  
  
Midori_Verde  
  
Rutu  
  
Did you all like the profile page? Please tell me.  
  
You know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"Yugi, what happened just now? You took out five guys like it was nothing." Yami said.  
  
Yugi sighed, "Let's go to the Kame shop and I'll explain a little there."  
  
And together the hikari and yami walked off to one's old home and the other's current home.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yami and Yugi silently walked to the game shop, each lost in their own thoughts.  
  
'Man,' Yugi thought, 'I never expected Yami to be following me. And I bet he still has no idea that I've already visited Grandpa too. I guess I can tell him a little, but not all. Not yet. I may have forgiven him long ago, but I still haven't forgotten how he and the others hurt me.'  
  
'Gods,' Yami thought, 'it seems that Yugi's changed more than I thought. I can't believe he was able to take down that many guys. And one even pulled out a damn knife! Well, Grandpa will certainly be surprised. I've told him about seeing Yugi, but hearing about him and actually seeing him are two different things. And maybe, just maybe, I can get some answers about where he's been the last two years.'  
  
When they reached the shop Yami turned to Yugi and said, "I'll go in first. I don't want to give him a heart attack."  
  
Yugi had to work to keep the smirk off his face. He'd been right; Yami didn't know that he'd already been by to see his grandpa. "I've already been by to see him." He stated simply.  
  
Yami looked at him shocked, but then quickly shook it off. He'd ask later, hopefully. He opened the door to the shop and called out, "Grandpa, I'm home!"  
  
"Hello Yami. You're home early today. You usually go out with the others." Sugoroku said.  
  
"Well, I ran into someone and decided to come straight home instead," Yami said.  
  
Yugi smirked, "More like you followed me and wanted some answers after seeing me defend myself. I suggested here since I didn't want to talk about it where just anyone could hear."  
  
Sugoroku smiled, "Hello Yugi. How are the others?"  
  
"They're fine. We actually all had errands to run, but it not really anything important. They actually didn't give me much so I could stop by today." Yugi said, smiling.  
  
Yami almost growled at the mention of the others. He didn't mind any of them so much as he minded Selene. Something about her just got under his skin. Probably her uncanny ability to surprise him when he thinks he knows a lot about her and the fact the she was 'with' Yugi didn't help too much either.  
  
"Okay then, why don't we go into the kitchen. Business is kind of slow anyway so I can close early." Sugoroku said.  
  
Yami and Yugi nodded and headed back to the kitchen. Sugoroku came in a couple minutes later and they all sat down.  
  
"So Yami," Yugi started, "you wanted to ask me something?"  
  
Yami nodded and said, "Where did you learn to defend yourself like you did today?" He was still in slight shock at having seen his hikari take down five guys who had to weigh at least twice as much as him and were all definitely taller than him.  
  
Yugi shrugged and said vaguely, "It comes from living with Selene and the others for two years. You gain really fast reactions."  
  
Yami eyed him skeptically and said, "You weren't just dodging, you were knocking them down to the ground like it was nothing."  
  
Yugi smiled mysteriously and said, "Like I said, it comes from living with Selene and the others for two years. It's just as simple as that."  
  
Yami sighed, knowing that that question would provide no more answers and then asked, "Okay then, where have you been for the past two years?"  
  
"Here and there." Yugi, yet again, said vaguely. Well, it was true; they had been to many different countries and many different cities all over the world.  
  
"And what, exactly, does that mean?" Yami said. While he knew he was getting the truth he knew that he was also just getting the least that could be told and still tell the truth.  
  
"We move around a lot. We've been to all sorts of places so it'd be hard to pin it down to just one place." Yugi said.  
  
"Okay then." Yami said, accepting that for now. "I also wanted to say that I am truly sorry for ignoring you two years ago."  
  
Yugi looked into his eyes and a ghost of a smile floated onto his face. "I actually forgave you all a long time ago, I just haven't been able to forget yet."  
  
Yami looked at him in shock. He remembered that Selene had said something along those lined to him before, but to actually hear Yugi himself say it was another matter entirely. Yami smiled back at his hikari.  
  
Yami suddenly stood up and said, "I'll be right back," before running up the steps. Yugi looked at Sugoroku in confusion but didn't have time to say anything because Yami came down a second later. He was carrying the twin to the puzzle he had around his own neck.  
  
"Here," he said, "keep it, it's yours after all." He said the last part when Yugi opened his mouth to object. He smiled slightly and took it.  
  
Suddenly the sound of quite beeping could be heard, and Yugi, out of instinct, pulled the cell phone from his bag. It was yet another original model from Jason, at least five or so years ahead of those available to the public. When he picked it up the first thing he heard was Selene's concerned voice asking why he hadn't gotten home or at least called. Yugi glanced at his watch and noticed that, to his surprise, it was already six- thirty.  
  
"Sorry," Yugi said into the phone, "I didn't realize the time. I was talking to somebody and I lost track of it."  
  
He heard Selene sigh before saying, "~Fine Hikari, just get your but back here ASAP before I come out looking for you. See you.~"  
  
"Bye," Yugi said before hanging up. Then he turned to his grandpa and Yami and said, "That was the others. They were concerned because I said I was going to be home a little while ago. I better get going."  
  
Yami and Sugoroku nodded and Yami walked him to the door.  
  
"Thank you," Yami suddenly said, surprising Yugi slightly.  
  
"For what?" he asked.  
  
"For telling me some of what's been going on."  
  
Yugi nodded, smiled, and walked out the door. He knew that soon he would probably be able to finally tell Yami the feelings he'd identified two years ago and recently concluded that he definitely still had. He still loved his yami.  
  
To bad he didn't know that before anything else could happen, fate was going to have a little trick up her sleeve. A trick no one would enjoy.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please review.  
  
And like I said, Yami and Yugi don't get together yet, I still want something to happen first. You'll find out everything later. 


	17. Sacrifices

Sacrifices  
  
AN: Sorry this took a little longer than usual, but I was busy yesterday and I'm leaving about one this afternoon and won't get back till tomorrow afternoon. So I really wanted to get this chapter out.  
  
Thanks to all those that reviewed. Those would be the following:  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
Yana5  
  
TheHikariWhoLovesBishis  
  
Blue-Heggie  
  
Nekostar 2  
  
chibi_hikari  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
SoulDreamer  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
Thanks to you all. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you'll never understand how much you all help me.  
  
Also, all the characters are 18, but I put 16-18 because at the beginning they were 16 but now they're 18. Just for those of you who were confused.  
  
You know the rest...  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi nodded, smiled, and walked out the door. He knew that soon he would probably be able to finally tell Yami the feelings he'd identified two years ago and recently concluded that he definitely still had. He still loved his yami.  
  
To bad he didn't know that before anything else could happen, fate was going to have a little trick up her sleeve. A trick no one would enjoy.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
As Selene ran through the streets, she thought back on what exactly had been happening since they'd split up the day before. When she, Jake, Damien, Jason, and Derek all got home they each had nothing to report. They had waited for half an hour for Yugi to at least call, but when he hadn't she'd called him on his cell phone. She'd been relieved to find out that he'd just been at his grandpa's and had lost track of time. He said he'd be coming straight home but he hadn't.  
  
The five of them had gone out looking for him after another half hour because it doesn't take quite that long to get from the Kame game shop to their apartment, even at a slow pace. They each came back to the apartment after not having found anything. They'd all been worried, but knew that Yugi probably knew what he was doing. They agreed that if he wasn't back by morning they'd search the whole city. Then there was this morning.  
  
Selene had been the first one up, and, unlike usual, she didn't wake Damien when she got up. She still wasn't sure why. She'd gotten dressed in a pair of black leather hip huggers and a black top with a silver dragon winding it's way up to rest on her right shoulder. She also felt the urge to put her hair into a low bun instead of the normal low ponytail and when she'd looked in the mirror she was shocked to find that she looked like she did when ever she knew there was a big fight coming.  
  
She'd gone into the hall and had cracked open Yugi's door to see if he was there asleep then threw it all the way open when she didn't see him. She, also, still wasn't sure what made her go into the kitchen and downstairs before waking anyone else up, but she had and in the small stack of letters she'd found a note.  
  
'Hello Selene. I know that you're probably the one reading this at the moment. You're also probably concerned for your friend Yugi. Don't worry we haven't done anything yet. And we won't if you come to the assigned place, alone. Hope to see you there. ~Akuma'  
  
Akuma was a member of the Lotronis, their rival group. He was also the strongest out of all of them and had been after Selene since the first time they'd gone against each other. And not just in the sense for beating her, he also evidently found her attractive as he always made crude comments when they were fighting on the occasions that they did. And this also always caused her to smack him down harder than need be.  
  
Selene had crumpled up the note and thrown it away after memorizing the place to meet them. She ran upstairs to get her weapons before running out of the building. That's where she found herself now. She stood outside an abandoned warehouse and, after thoroughly checking her weapons, pushed open the door. She was met with the sight of Yugi half-unconscious and hung from a chain from the ceiling by the wrists with his feet touching the ground.  
  
"Welcome Selene," came the smooth voice of Akuma.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yugi groaned slightly as he started to come through. At first he was slightly confused at why he was hanging by his wrists when eh suddenly remembered what had happed earlier.  
  
He'd been walking home after having left the game shop when he'd been ambushed. He'd known immediately by the way they fought that they were the Lotronis, and all five of them at that. He'd managed to take down two of them and was holding off a third when one managed to get behind him and put a chloroform covered piece of cloth over his mouth. He'd blacked out a few seconds later only to wake up now. Then he heard a voice he recognized.  
  
"Welcome Selene," it said. It was Akuma. "So good of you to come. And to rescue your friend too. How sweet."  
  
Then he heard a voice he wished he hadn't. "Stuff it Akuma. I'm here, now what do you want?" It was Selene's voice and he'd hoped that she wouldn't come. He knew she was in danger.  
  
"I think you know what I want." Akuma said.  
  
"How could I forget. You remind me every time we meet. Though that wouldn't be anymore if I had my way." Selene said. She was still standing in the doorway, though now she had closed the door.  
  
"And now the stakes are higher. I have one of your friends and with one word I could easily have him killed." Akuma said.  
  
Selene growled, obviously angry. "Fine, what do you want me to do?" She wouldn't let him hurt her friends.  
  
"Nothing," Akuma said, a slight smirk on his face and in his voice.  
  
"What?" Selene said, obviously very confused.  
  
"I said to do nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Just stand still." Akuma said.  
  
Selene, getting his idea now, growled again. But after a moment said, "Fine."  
  
Yugi eyes snapped all the way open at the sound of skin on skin contact. One of the other four around him had just hit Selene in the stomach on orders from Akuma. Selene gasped but firmly remained standing. She refused to show any weakness. A couple more came up and in the end it was three of the five beating up on Selene with Akuma watching and the other guarding him incase Selene tried to do anything. Yugi was currently unable to move and was still in a half-daze. It seems that they'd found some new kind of chloroform as the regular stuff shouldn't be doing this to him.  
  
'Help!' he screamed out into his mind. 'Someone help her!'  
  
"Stop." Came Akuma's voice. He slowly walked over to the now very bruised up Selene. "Well my dear, will you do as I wish?"  
  
Selene didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes said enough. She would never submit herself like that to him.  
  
"Fine then." Akuma threw her down from where he'd picked her up and her head hit the floor hard, sending her to the brink of unconsciousness, but she stubbornly stayed conscious even if she couldn't do anything.  
  
Yugi was now fighting to stay awake, but right as he was about to pass out he saw the doors slam open and several voices cry out in anger. That was the last thing he knew before the darkness took him.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please review and tell me! 


	18. Rescues

Rescues  
  
AN: Sorry this took a little longer but I was busy with homework and I wasn't home much on Sunday.  
  
Thank you all my reviewers. That would be the following:  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
TheHikariWhoLovesBishis  
  
Rutu  
  
Thank you, all of you.  
  
This is set the morning of the last chapter. It starts right after Selene left the apartment building.  
  
You all know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi was now fighting to stay awake, but right as he was about to pass out he saw the doors slam open and several voices cry out in anger. That was the last thing he knew before the darkness took him.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Damien woke that morning to a strangely empty bed. When he opened his eyes he was met with the same sight. This completely confused him as Selene always woke him up when she got up. She almost never let him sleep in. He got up and dressed in black jeans and a black sleeve-less t-shirt and tied back his ebon hair before heading out to the kitchen. Though not without checking Yugi's room first, only to find both rooms empty.  
  
Starting to worry now he scoured the area for any form of a note from either of the two missing, only to find none. Now he was definitely worried. Even if Selene didn't tell anyone where she went she always left a note so they wouldn't worry. And the last time something like this had happened was the time Selene went to avenge him on those that had made him run away. From what he read about them in the paper the next morning, it had been a very messy house. And not in the normal way.  
  
He ran to the door of Jake, Jason, and Derek's room and banged on the door before opening it.  
  
"Guys, something's wrong." He said, more calmly than he felt. First Yugi and now Selene go missing without any sign as to where they went.  
  
"What?" asked a groggy Derek, as he was the first to wake up enough to be able to form a sentence.  
  
"Selene's gone and there's no note." This simple statement got the attention of all three of the other boys instantly. This was not good.  
  
"There wasn't a note?" Jason asked.  
  
"Right, and Yugi's still gone." Damien said.  
  
Now all three of the other boys were as worried as Damien. Yugi gone and Selene leaving without leaving a note had to mean that she knew where Yugi was. And that she wasn't going to let them know 'cause she didn't want them to get hurt. She was like that, Selene was.  
  
"As much as I hate to admit it, we're probably going to need some help on this one." Damien said. He knew who he needed to ask, but that didn't make the task any easier.  
  
"You mean we need to ask Yami." Jason said.  
  
"Yes, we know that Selene is probably where ever Yugi is and hopefully Yami might be able to find Yugi. Despite everything, those two share a bond like no other." Damien said, referring to the link. He just hoped that it would work at this moment as Yugi had told them that it had been severed the night he ran away.  
  
"Well, there's no use putting in off. Just give us a second to put on decent clothes." Jake said. Damien nodded and left the room.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yami was about to start breakfast that morning when he heard the doorbell ringing. Cursing whoever was at the door he went to answer it.  
  
He opened it only to reveal a few of the people he did not want to see on the doorstep. It was Jake, Jason, Derek, and Damien.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked.  
  
"Much as I hate to say it, we need your help right now." Damien stated simply.  
  
Now this threw Yami for a loop. That was the last thing he'd expected when he'd seen the four teens on the doorstep. "My help?" he asked skeptically.  
  
"Yes, your help. If we could come in for a second we can explain." Derek said.  
  
Yami, somehow knowing that the teens really did need his help, stood back to let them enter the house. They walked into the living room and sat down.  
  
"Okay then, what do you need my help for?" Yami asked, curious as to why they were coming to him of all people for help.  
  
"Well," Jake said, nervously tugging at his dagger earring, "to make a long story short, yesterday Yugi disappeared. It was sometime after he left the game shop. We went looking for him but couldn't find him. Figuring that he'd be home by this morning we decided to wait it out. Only to find that this morning not only was there no Yugi but Selene had disappeared too. Since there was no note that means that she probably found out where Yugi was and left to get him without us. This also meaning that it was dangerous and she didn't want us to get hurt."  
  
Yami sat quietly while they explained the situation. When Jake finished he said, "So how could I help you?"  
  
"We were hoping that you might be able to find him through you all's link. Yes, we know it hasn't worked for two years, but we could always hope." Jason said. It was clear that, despite the situation, he really hated asking for help.  
  
"I doubt it but I could-" but Yami was cut off when he heard a faint voice in the back of his mind that sounded exactly like Yugi. /Help!/ the voice he was now sure was Yugi's said, /Someone help her!/  
  
//Yugi!// Yami called out, but he received no reply. Undaunted he felt for his hikari's presence and was surprised to yet again be able to feel said presence. He quickly traced it to a warehouse not too far from the game shop.  
  
"Yami?" Damien said, wondering why he had cut off his sentence suddenly."  
  
"I heard him. I was able to trace his life force coming from a warehouse not too far from here." Yami said, still shocked.  
  
"Where?" Jake asked urgently. He had to find his friends.  
  
"I'll take you there." Yami said, standing up. The others followed suit and they were soon running down the street. They reached it not five minutes later. Four of them checked their weapons, not bothering to hide the fact, before pushing open the door.  
  
At the sight before them Damien and Jake let loose a yell of anger and, whipping out a weapon each, ran into there, shortly followed by the other three behind them.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please review and tell me!  
  
And now you know who the ones who came to the rescue of Selene and Yugi are. Hope you're happy.  
  
Finally, this story will probably only have one or two more chapters coming up. I hate that the story is ending already! 


	19. Fights

Fights  
  
AN: Another chapter! Yeah!  
  
Thanks you all those that reviewed, those would be:  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
TheHikariWhoLovesBishis  
  
Saiyan_Kitsune_Foxfire  
  
bast4  
  
AngelicMouseGirl  
  
Izumi Satoshi  
  
zeynel  
  
Nekostar2  
  
Rutu  
  
starfire  
  
JerseyGirl03  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
I've gotten a couple requests to not end this so soon, or at least complaints that is ending soon. So, I decided to take a couple ideas granted to me be Yugi Mutou. Here are your choices, tell me what you want when you review.  
  
A) This ends as planned, within the next couple chapters, and that's it. Period.  
  
B) This ends almost as planned, but I leave it open and come up with a sequel. I've got the general idea for this, but not the whole thing so it wouldn't come out as fast.  
  
C) This ends and I do a story involving Yugi and Selene before Selene helped Yugi and then ran away herself. And then maybe following into her life after she met the Venators. I also have the general idea for this, but it too wouldn't come out as fast.  
  
If I do B or C I'll probably do the other later. Same with if I get people who want A, I'll probably try and do C later if people want me to. Just give me your opinions in a review and I'll be very thankful.  
  
You know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
At the sight before them Damien and Jake let loose a yell of anger and, whipping out a weapon each, ran into there, shortly followed by the other three behind them.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Damien whipped out his ball and chain as he rushed in and, thinking quickly, tossed it at the stunned man who stood next to Yugi, still clutching the knife. Caught off guard the man's legs got tangled up and he toppled to the ground. His head hit the ground with a satisfying thud and he was out like a light. After seeing that Jake, Jason, and Derek were taking care of the guys who'd been around Selene and that Yami-who was watching the others fight with a look of shock on his face-was with Yugi, he turned to Akuma.  
  
"You bastard!" he shouted as he drew his sakabato, or reverse-blade sword, and charged at Akuma. While he had trained to use a katana, or Japanese sword, he usually used a sakabato unless it's an emergency to avoid killing.  
  
Akuma leapt out of the way and smoothly drew his katana. Unlike the Venators he had no reservations about killing others. "Fine then, try to stop me if you can. With that little toy of yours." He said.  
  
Damien attacked again and Akuma blocked again. Then Akuma attempted an attack only to have Damien dodge it. This cycle kept on for a while, each attacking at random intervals and dodging or blocking the other's attack.  
  
Meanwhile Jake had drawn his daggers and was currently against someone who had pulled out a trident from gods only knew where. He was managing to hold the other off, keep an eye on Selene, and scratch the other guy a couple of times. All in all, he was holding his own pretty well. During the next jab the guy with the trident got sloppy 'cause he was angry and that allowed Jake to deflect it downwards and, after flipping the blade in his hand, hit the guy in the back of the neck with the hilt, knocking him out cold.  
  
Jason, during all this, had drawn his sias and was currently against someone holding a metal bo, or long staff. While it may not be able to cut him very easily, it could definitely skewer him if it was used the right way. Though he had managed to hit the other guy's right hand fingers, causing quite a bit of pain in the process. He too was keeping an eye on the unconscious Selene. When the guy came at him again he hit the same hand, causing him to lose his grip. Taking the opportunity he closed the sias, basically put the hilt outward with the spear part resting against his forearm, and rammed one into the guy's gut and the other up into his chin, putting him out of this fight.  
  
In the meantime, Derek had also drawn his daggers and was going against a guy holding a pair of steel nunchucks. He was managing to hold him off, but he had yet to score a hit. Then he used the dagger to slow the metal part slightly and let the chain wrap around his left forearm. Using the time it took for the other guy to shake off his shock, however short it may have been, he closed the other dagger and rammed the hilt into the guy's groin, hard. He barely got out before the other guy fell, doubled up in pain. Using the chance he saw he slammed his left elbow down on the guy's neck and knock him out. This was about the time the other two finished with their fights too.  
  
Yami watched in shock as the group he came in with fought expertly with the ones who'd held their friends captive. He had rushed right over to Yugi and untied him when he'd gotten through the door. Currently he was sitting beside the unconscious Yugi, who was leaning against a stack of boxes.  
  
When Jason, Jake, and Derek had all finished with their fights they ran over to Damien who was currently looking slightly worse than Akuma with a few scratches on him.  
  
Akuma, seeing his men fall, knew that it was over. While he could handle one and at the best of times maybe two of the Venators at a time there was no way in Hell that he could handle four of them. He jumped backwards onto a stack of crates and out the window above him. Also unlike the Venators, the Lotronis were not friends, and only worked well together.  
  
Seeing that Akuma wasn't coming back, the others sheathed their weapons and walked over to Yami, Damien taking a slight detour to pick up Selene.  
  
Seeing Yami's curious expression Jason quickly said, "Let's get out of here first, then you can ask questions." Seeing Yami nod he helped him pick up Yugi, one of Yugi's arms around each of their necks and Jason with one arm underneath his arms and Yami had one arm around Yugi's waist. Damien was still carrying the unconscious Selene bridal style. Jake took up a position in front of the two groups and Derek behind. They could never be too careful.  
  
When they reached the game shop they, thankfully, found a note to Yami saying that Grandpa would be out on errands for a while and might not be home until dinner. Yami led them up to Yugi's room, they'd kept it the same way it'd been when he'd left, and set Yugi down on the bed. Damien sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, refusing to set Selene down- he was stubborn that way. Yami sat on the bed next to Yugi, Derek was leaning against the wall near the desk, where Jake was currently sitting in the chair. Jason was copying Damien and leaning sitting against a wall.  
  
"So," Jason said, the first to break the silence, "I guess you want a explanation for what just happened back there." At Yami's nod he sighed. "Well, I guess we better start from the beginning." After a moment he opened his mouth again to say something but was cut off by a groan from the now semi-conscious Selene.  
  
Selene opened her eyes, but shut them again quickly after seeing the lights. "Damn," she muttered, "I feel like I was just hit by an eighteen- wheeler."  
  
"Really," Jake said, a sly smirk on his face, "'cause you look it too."  
  
"You're lucky my head's pounding so much or I'd ram you into the ground for that, baka." Selene said, slowly opening her eyes again.  
  
When she saw Damien's face above hers she smiled slightly at his concerned expression. "I'm fine," she muttered to him and slowly sat up. Damien let her do so with obvious reluctance.  
  
"So I take it you found us." Selene said casually after seeing that the room was not one she'd seen before and then seeing Yami sitting on the bed next to an unconscious Yugi.  
  
"Yup, and now he" Derek jerked his thumb toward Yami as he said this, "wants an explanation."  
  
Selene nodded and said, "How did you find us?"  
  
"My link with Yugi opened up again," Yami replied this time.  
  
Selene nodded again, though this time she seemed slightly resigned. "Well," she said, "I guess it is time you learned exactly what's going on here."  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please review and tell me.  
  
And PLEASE don't forget to vote for what you want! The ending of the story will depend on what you all vote for! 


	20. Author's Note

Author's Note:  
  
No, this is not a new chapter. This is just to let you all know that I'll be waiting one week from the day this is posted to post the next chapter so every one will have a chance to vote.  
  
Here are the choices again:  
  
A) This ends as planned, within the next couple chapters, and that's it. Period.  
  
B) This ends almost as planned, but I leave it open and come up with a sequel. I've got the general idea for this, but not the whole thing so it wouldn't come out as fast.  
  
C) This ends and I do a story involving Yugi and Selene before Selene helped Yugi and then ran away herself. And then maybe following into her life after she met the Venators. I also have the general idea for this, but it too wouldn't come out as fast.  
  
I will also, hopefully, be posting a new one-shot song-fic. based on this story. It's basically going to be one night when Yugi's thinking shortly after he left Yami and the gang. Be on the look out for it.  
  
Later! 


	21. Stories

Stories  
  
AN: It's been a week and I've got the next chapter up!  
  
O_O...I never expected this many people to review for just one chapter! Thank you! Here are the ones who reviewed:  
  
Rutu  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
The four cousins  
  
Yana5  
  
Nekostar2  
  
starfire  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
Obsiquious Sadist  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
And what the people want is:  
  
A: 1  
  
B: 9  
  
C: 5  
  
...I guess that means that no one wants me to stop. Well, I guess I'll try to write both a prequel and a sequel. Just remember that since I haven't got the whole thing planned out like I did with this, they won't come out as fast.  
  
I just looked and realized just how many reviews I have! 113! Oh man, I never expected this. I hardly expected any at all! Oh man.  
  
And since the story "Two Steps Behind" is a side story for this I'll put the reviews for that one into here. I thank the following people for reviewing "Two Steps Behind":  
  
Amethyst Radochonski  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Rutu  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
Kitsune's Girl  
  
Thank you for all those that have reviewed any of my stories!  
  
You all know the rest:  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"Yup, and now he" Derek jerked his thumb toward Yami as he said this, "wants an explanation."  
  
Selene nodded and said, "How did you find us?"  
  
"My link with Yugi opened up again," Yami replied this time.  
  
Selene nodded again, though this time she seemed slightly resigned. "Well," she said, "I guess it is time you learned exactly what's going on here."  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Selene sat in silence for a minute, collecting her thoughts, before she sighed and said, "I guess the true beginning of the story would be 13 years ago, when I first met Yugi. I already told you in general what his life was like, but another major factor would have to have been my home life. If it hadn't been the way it was, I may never have met and made friends with Yugi."  
  
When she said this, Damien and the other Venators looked shocked. Not at the mention of her home life, they all knew that story, but at the fact that she was willing to tell Yami. Last they knew, she pretty much despised him for what he'd done. Damien tightened his grip on her waist and looked at her concerned. She just smiled a smile that said she knew what she was doing.  
  
Yami, for his part, was slightly confused at the interaction between Selene and Damien. As far as he knew, Yugi and Selene were a couple. But he wasn't about to stop the answers he'd been waiting so long for just to point this out.  
  
"To say the least," Selene continued after a moment, "I never had the best home life. My mother had died giving birth to me. And because of this my father always blamed me for her death. Ever since I can remember he constantly reminded me of that fact. He would beat me every day from the first day I could really walk. And he also had me do all the chores around the small, grubby house since that very same time. At first no one noticed because hardly anyone ever saw me. I was usually at home. And when I started school at the age of five, I was the bully's targets and because of this no one really paid any attention to any new bruises they saw.  
  
"You might ask why I never said anything, but you see at that time, I truly believed my father's lies. I thought that I had killed my mother and that I did deserve what I got. And I wasn't until I met Yugi that I realized that something was wrong. I met him one day in the local park, where I was hiding from the local bullies. I accidentally ran into him as I was running. Seeing the bullies coming, I grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the near-by bushes. When I turned around I saw someone who looked so innocent. For some reason, his eyes captured my trust and friendship right then. We became fast friends as we hid from bullies. We were both five at the time.  
  
"But you see, while that was the happiest year of my life because I'd finally made a friend, it was also the worst. About two months after I met Yugi my birthday rolled around. My sixth birthday is one I'll never be able to forget no matter how long I live. You see, my 'father' took it upon himself to give me a 'gift' as he called it. The night of my sixth birthday was the first time he raped me." Selene's voice halted right then and her head bowed. Damien pulled her closer against his body, hoping to comfort her. After a moment she continued, her head still bowed.  
  
"I didn't understand what had happened at first, I just knew that it hurt like hell. He seemed to enjoy it as he did it almost constantly after that. Soon I lost all faith in the goodness within humans. Only one person could still touch my heart, and that was Yugi. I'm not sure, even now, exactly what allowed me to trust him despite everything. I doubt I'll ever understand. I just know that I did. Maybe it was because about a year later I noticed quite a few new bruises on him. It was just after a holiday so I new that they couldn't have come from bullies, they usually took to beating us both at the same time anyway, so naturally I was curious who would've hurt my friend. Imagine my shock when I found out it was his father. That was the first time I really started to doubt what had been ingrained into my head my whole life because his story was similar to mine. He too had lost his mother, though she died when he was three because of lung cancer. His father, enraged at her death, started drinking and would come home piss ass drunk every night. Shortly after her death he moved them both to Siaka City. And that's when his abuse started. Around the same time mine had.  
  
"If someone could beat someone so innocent and blame them for the death of another, then how could it be right. I admitted to myself that I wasn't innocent like Yugi, but still. If his father was wrong, and by that time I knew he had to be, then wasn't there a chance that my father was wrong too. I still told no one, though, because Yugi made me promise not to tell about his father and no one would believe me if I told them my story. But I was determined to do something. So, I began to search for Yugi's grandfather. I felt that he was alive, and even if I found he wasn't at least I'd have some king of proof other than the word of some stupid bastard. It was a year later, when we were both eight, that I found him. I had found a newspaper clipping from a city called Domino that was about a man who was looking for his grandson, Yugi Mutou. I called the number listed and, after some convincing-I was only eight after all, it's natural that he'd doubt my word-, he said he'd come down. And the rest of it you know. And it was a year after that that I too ran away and I was found by a member of an organization called the Venators." Selene fell silent once she had finished her story.  
  
Yami, for his part, was shocked. He'd known part of Yugi's story, courtesy of Selene herself, and he knew that Selene's story couldn't be very much better, but this was ridiculous. To think that someone would do that to their own child and for so long too, and now some of her protectiveness made sense. She wouldn't want anyone of her friends to get hurt. But there was one part of her story that didn't make sense.  
  
"Who are the Venators?" Yami asked.  
  
Jason, seeing that Selene wasn't in any condition to answer, turned to Yami and said, "We're part of the Venators." And then explained exactly what the Venators were. Yami was, yet again, shocked. Yugi had been part of a ring of thieves, even if it was for a good cause. And now all the pieces of the puzzles were starting to come together. Why Selene and the others had come to Domino the first time and why they came back with Yugi the second time.  
  
"So, that's why you all came back, you had a mission?"  
  
"Yup." Jake chirped from his current position, still seated comfortably in the chair.  
  
Selene, now looking much better, suddenly spoke up, "Guys, can I talk to Yami for a moment, alone?" Everyone in the room, except Yugi who was still unconscious, looked at her confused. But the Venators nodded and left anyways.  
  
Once everyone had left Selene stood up and turned to Yami, "You love him don't you." She said, it wasn't a question. Yami nodded and she continued, "Then you should know that your feelings are returned. From what he's told me, they always have been. Part of the reason he left. And from what I can tell, he still does love you. I doubt that he ever stopped."  
  
Yami was shocked at this. "But I thought that you and he were together." He said.  
  
Selene smiled slightly and shook her head. "No," she said, "we never were and never have been. I love him like I'd love a little brother, but nothing more. I already love someone else."  
  
"But what about the rumors at school about the kiss in that one P.E. class?" Yami replied, confused.  
  
"It was all an act. It was meant to keep you all at a distance while we did everything. We all knew of Yugi's feelings though I was the only one who guessed yours. I did this because I didn't want him to get hurt. But now I know that it's okay." Selene said. She continued when she saw Yami's confused look. "You said your link opened back up. Well, from Yugi's story I gathered that the strength of your bond depended on your trust in one another. That's why it started to dissipate when you ignored him. He still loved you, but you'd broken his trust. And then it came back tonight. That means that he trusts you again. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him and if it's you that makes him happy then I'll let him stay without a fight. But know this, if you ever hurt him, I'll personally make sure that what ever remains of your life is a living hell."  
  
With that said Selene walked out of the room. Yami sat down and thought over what she said. And what she did. She'd willingly let Yugi stay with Yami if it made him happy, all because he loved him. And that was another thing, Yugi loved him. Now everything made sense. That's part of the reason he'd been so hurt and also part of the reason he'd been able to trust Yami again. Yami was brought out of his thoughts as he heard a groan came from the bed.  
  
Yugi was waking up and it was time that everything between them was cleared up.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: I'm so evil. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will probably be the last and then I start on the sequel. Please read and review! Thanks! 


	22. Together Again

Together Again  
  
AN: First I want to apologize to all those on MM.Org whose reviews I didn't mention. I had set it to tell me when I had a review and somehow it must have reset. I didn't notice my mistake until after I had posted the chapter. Sorry all!  
  
These are the ones I forgot to mention last chapter:  
  
joeyrules  
  
Jewel  
  
*Elizabeth*Marie*Rose*  
  
"Skippy"  
  
Saiyan_Kitsune_Foxfire  
  
Nakhti_Darkness  
  
niner  
  
Sango Taijiya  
  
KK  
  
chibi_hikari  
  
Midori_Verde  
  
RainOwl  
  
And here are the reviewers for this chapter:  
  
dark_light18b  
  
myshi  
  
chibi_hikari  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
AnimeFan13  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
wandering shadow  
  
smilez  
  
kathleen  
  
bast4  
  
Rutu  
  
Thank you all. This is the longest list I've ever had at once.  
  
Addressing the sequel, please feel free to send me ideas. I have some idea of what I might do, but any suggestions would be very helpful and greatly appreciated.  
  
You know the rest.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"It was all an act. It was meant to keep you all at a distance while we did everything. We all knew of Yugi's feelings though I was the only one who guessed yours. I did this because I didn't want him to get hurt. But now I know that it's okay." Selene said. She continued when she saw Yami's confused look. "You said your link opened back up. Well, from Yugi's story I gathered that the strength of your bond depended on your trust in one another. That's why it started to dissipate when you ignored him. He still loved you, but you'd broken his trust. And then it came back tonight. That means that he trusts you again. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him and if it's you that makes him happy then I'll let him stay without a fight. But know this, if you ever hurt him, I'll personally make sure that what ever remains of your life is a living hell."  
  
With that said Selene walked out of the room. Yami sat down and thought over what she said. And what she did. She'd willingly let Yugi stay with Yami if it made him happy, all because he loved him. And that was another thing, Yugi loved him. Now everything made sense. That's part of the reason he'd been so hurt and also part of the reason he'd been able to trust Yami again. Yami was brought out of his thoughts as he heard a groan came from the bed.  
  
Yugi was waking up and it was time that everything between them was cleared up.  
  
~*~*~*~One with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi groaned as he slowly woke up. It seems that what ever they had used had been very potent indeed. Slowly he became aware that he was lying on a bed and that someone else was in the room. Though he had yet to open his eyes, he could sense that it wasn't one of the Venators, but that it also made him feel safe. He wondered for a moment how he'd gotten to where ever he was. Then he shot up from his previous lying position when all that had happened yesterday suddenly came to the forefront of his mind.  
  
First thing that he noticed was Yami sitting down in a chair at the edge of the bed he was on, the second thing was that the room was the one he used to have and that it was exactly as he'd left it.  
  
Yami watched as his hikari slowly woke up, though he kept his eyes closed. Suddenly he shot up and his eyes shot open, quickly scanning the room and coming to a rest on himself.  
  
"Yami? Is this my room?" Yugi asked just to reassure his hunch. Yami nodded. "Where are the others? Are they okay? Is Selene okay? Are you okay?" Yugi asked, remembering how much Selene was hurt and who exactly had come to the rescue.  
  
"Calm down Yugi," Yami said, "don't worry, they're all fine. They're all downstairs." Yugi calmed slightly at this.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, wanting to know what had happened after he'd passed out.  
  
"After we found you and Damien and the others opened the door, they charged in, drawing their weapons. They managed to take down all but one of the other guys, though that was because that guy fled. Well anyway, then we carried you all back to the game shop, as it was closest." Yami said. Yugi nodded in understanding, but he still had another question.  
  
"How did you all find us? Knowing Selene, I doubt that she told anyone that she was coming after me. And there have to be at least a dozen warehouses scattered all around the city. How did you find us in just one in so short a time?" Yugi said, his curiosity piqued.  
  
Yami debated for a minute about the best way to tell him, then he decided that the best way would be the direct way. //The link opened up again. I managed to find you thanks to it.//  
  
Yugi, to say the least, was shocked. That was the last thing he'd expected. Then again he did remember calling out for help in his mind. And he could've sworn he'd heard a reply, but he'd figured that that had just been whatever drug they'd used on him. /But how?/ Yugi asked.  
  
//I'm not sure but Selene had a theory.// Yam said, though he wasn't entirely sure that Yugi knew what he was talking about. Selene might've mentioned it before, then again she might not have. He was really hoping that it was the former.  
  
/What theory?/ Yugi asked, curious. Selene had mentioned several times that she had a guess as to how the link worked, but she'd never told anyone because she hadn't been entirely sure.  
  
//Well...// Yami started, unsure of exactly how to phrase it. Then he hesitantly said //According to her, the link is based off of how much trust there is between the yami and the hikari.//  
  
Yugi eyes widened. Then again, that did make sense. The link had been the strongest when they'd been closest and weakest after Yami had forgotten about him. And that also meant that he trusted Yami again. And if he was truthful with himself, he did. He did trust his yami again. /That makes sense./ Yugi said after a moment.  
  
//There was also something else she said.// Yami said, unsure of exactly why he was bringing it up now. Then again, maybe it was because of Selene, the girl did have a way of convincing people to do something even if they didn't want to.  
  
/What?/ Yugi asked, sensing the apprehension practically radiating off his yami.  
  
Yami looked into the violet eyes of his hikari and, for the first time in a while, saw them completely unguarded with the innocent light shining through. He gulped. How did he think he could do this. Then he remembered Selene's words and his resolve hardened. Though that didn't make it very much easier to explain himself. //Well, after she asked the others to leave so she could talk to me alone, she confronted me about something. I had known part of what she'd told me before but not all of it. And to say the least it shocked me.// Yami stared and he would've continued on this track had Yugi not interrupted him.  
  
/Yami, your rambling./ he said in a very amused voice. It wasn't often that he'd ever heard the ex-pharaoh do something like that and even rarer that he'd be able to stop him and tease him before Yami noticed himself. Yami's cheeks turned slightly pink.  
  
//Right...I guess the best way to say this would just to say right out, right?// Yami said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. //What I was trying to say is...I love you.//  
  
Yugi sat in shock for a moment. That was the last thing he'd expected, but he also knew that his yami was waiting, nervously I might add, for an answer. Yugi smiled a big smile, throwing his arms around a slightly shock Yami before saying /And I love you./  
  
Yami smiled down at his hikari and, tilting Yugi's head up slightly, captured the others lips in a kiss.  
  
~*~*~  
  
As Selene walked down the stairs she heard the sound of someone awakening coming from the room she'd just left. It looks like she'd timed it perfectly.  
  
'I'll distract the others for another twenty minutes before I allow them back up. Hopefully Yami will have told Hikari by then.' Selene thought. When she entered the living room where the others where she was met by a group of curious gazes.  
  
"So," Jake started, "what did you do to the poor guy? Did you decapitate or castrate him or something. I just hope you at least used your sword to do it. Those shuriken would probably hurt like hell." Jake somehow managed to keep his face straight for a minute after he said that before he started sniggering.  
  
Selene shook her head, chuckling inwardly at Jake. "No, I didn't maim him. I just talked to him. Contrary to popular belief I don't abhor him. The only reason I didn't like him was because he'd hurt Hikari." This statement was met by mock shocked gazes from everyone. They'd all already known this, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't take the chance to tease her.  
  
"Did I just hear those words come out of the Selene Chousen's mouth?! The world must be coming to an end. The next thing you know, you'll be saying that you got paid for doing a mission" Jake said, his eyes glittering in merriment. He absolutely loved pushing her buttons.  
  
"Or maybe Akuma will decide that he would prefer to go disco dancing with a bunch of fluffy pink bunnies and large-eyed hamsters to chasing after us!" Jason said. This caused everyone in the room to crack up immediately. The mental picture was just too funny to ignore.  
  
"Yeah," added Jake after a moment, "and he'll be singing the Barney song all the while." They set off the slightly calming group to automatically to crack up again.  
  
"Wearing a pink tutu with military boots and his hair up in a high pony tail." Derek couldn't help but adding.  
  
"Oh, don't forget the make-up and tiara, the outfit wouldn't be complete otherwise." Selene added.  
  
"And his hair dyed a bright neon pink with glitter in it." Damien said, adding his piece.  
  
The mental picture of proper and prim Akuma doing all this caused the whole group to go into a laughing fit that lasted around ten to fifteen minutes and the only reason it stopped then was because their stomachs were starting to hurt from laughing so hard.  
  
"Well," Selene said after she'd finally regained her composure, "that was certainly interesting. Anyway, what I was going to say was that I confronted him about his feelings for Yugi and warned him that if he hurt Yugi again, I would personally make his life a living hell."  
  
"Feelings?" Jason asked. He might've been really good at inventing things, but reading people he didn't know wasn't one of his strong points. Especially when he hardly ever saw said person.  
  
"He loves Yugi." Selene said simply.  
  
"And you're okay with this?" Damien asked skeptically. Selene may not have despised Yami, but she far from liked him at the moment.  
  
"Well, I'm not entirely happy with it, but if it makes Yugi happy then I'm not going to hold him back. Though, as I said before, if he hurts Hikari I will personally make him pay big time." Selene said, knowing that it was impossible to lie to her friends. Then she glanced at her watch and grinned.  
  
"Hey guys," she said slowly, a mischievous grin finding it's way onto her face, "how about we go up and see what they're up to."  
  
The others, catching onto her scheme, grinned in return and the quietly climbed the steps. When they reached the door they were happy to see that Yami and Yugi had forgotten to close it. They peeked in just as the other two kissed. They watched, grinning for a moment, before Selene cleared her throat rather loudly.  
  
Yami was just about to try and deepen the kiss when he heard someone standing near the doorway clear their throat rather loudly. Startled both he and Yugi jumped away from each other, both blushing beet red, only to go redder and the laughing group of teens at the door.  
  
"Sorry you guys," Selene said after her laughs had subsided to light chuckles, "but I couldn't resist doing that. I just had to see your faces."  
  
Yugi glared at his friend and muttered something about killing a certain stupid neko. This caused Yami to grin as he had been the only one to hear it.  
  
"Well, I think that it's about time for lunch, don't you?" Derek said after they'd all finished laughing. "If I remember correctly none of us has had breakfast and Yugi didn't get a chance to eat dinner last night."  
  
Yugi nodded, as did the others, and they all headed down for a very enjoyable lunch.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was two weeks later and Selene, Damien, Derek, Jake, and Jason were all ready to leave, having gotten the stolen item back when they'd raided the warehouse later on. Yugi had decided to stay behind. He may miss his friends, but he wasn't going to leave Yami.  
  
"Well, it's time to go." Selene said. They were standing outside the plane the organization had prepared for them.  
  
Yugi, who had Yami's arm wrapped firmly around his waist, looked close to tears. He really wished his friends didn't have to leave.  
  
"Hey, cheer up Hikari," Jake said, "it's not like we're never coming back. We'll visit every chance we get. And you know from experience that that can be quite often. We'll be back before you know it."  
  
Yugi sniffed and smiled. Jake was right. And if they said they'd be back soon, then they would be. "I know," Yugi said, "I'm just going to miss you all."  
  
"It will seem rather different without you all here." Yami said. While they hadn't exactly become close friends he had developed a fondness for the Venators.  
  
"Don't worry," Jason said, mock saluting Yugi and Yami, "we'll make sure to visit so often that you'll get sick of us soon."  
  
"Or at least you'll get sick of the dimwit over there." Derek said, gesturing to Jake who fumed. Derek had adopted the teasing nickname shortly after he, Jake, and Jason had gotten together.  
  
"We'll be back soon enough, don't worry. After all, we're friends and you know that we'd never forget our friends." Damien said.  
  
"Bye Hikari, we will be back soon, I promise," Selene said smiling at Yugi and he smiled back.  
  
"Goodbye!" the Venators called one last time as they got on the plane.  
  
"Bye!" Yugi called.  
  
Yugi sighed sadly as he watched the plane take off and he leaned back against Yami.  
  
"I miss them already." Yugi said.  
  
"Don't worry, like they said, they will visit. And if I've learned one thing it's that they refuse to break their word." Yami said.  
  
The two watched the plane until it was out of sight before heading back to their home. The Venators would visit, so there was no use mulling over it. They'd just let things come as they came and face it when it finally did.  
  
The end.  
  
AN: That's the end of this fic. I'll try to start the sequel soon and I do need ideas. Thank you to all those that reviewed and read this story all the way through.  
  
You'll never imagine how much you all helped me. And here is a special thanks to all those who reviewed:  
  
SoulDreamer  
  
inuyasha0001  
  
yamiwith  
  
TheHikariWhoLovesBishis  
  
Anonymous  
  
Dark_Fox  
  
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Doot  
  
zeynel  
  
cat  
  
Crystal D. Starlit Aka Dark_fox  
  
Tjay Motou  
  
Rain and Styorm  
  
Sarah Harvey  
  
Silver Mist4  
  
Loanwolf  
  
vmr  
  
Sharem  
  
MoonFox and MoonLightWolf  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Princess Strawberry  
  
Crystal D. Starlit  
  
Nuria  
  
Akane (aka Yami_Ryou)  
  
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Chameleon  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
Yana5  
  
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Rutu  
  
yami  
  
chibi_hikari  
  
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drawkcaB  
  
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Midori_Verde  
  
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starfire  
  
JerseyGirl03  
  
The four cousins  
  
Obsiquious Sadist  
  
joeyrules  
  
Jewel  
  
*Elizabeth*Marie*Rose*  
  
"Skippy"  
  
Nakhti_Darkness  
  
niner  
  
Sango Taijiya  
  
KK  
  
RainOwl  
  
dark_light18b  
  
myshi  
  
AnimeFan13  
  
wandering shadow  
  
smilez  
  
kathleen  
  
Sorry if I left you off or put you on twice, but I had a lot of reviews to sort through. Thank you all! 


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